Nigel Clarke 
Engineering, science, and academics → early-stage health startup → Masters: design methodology → innovation team @ Samsung.
Hello, I'm Nigel!
I live at the creative intersection of technical innovation and design strategy - balancing user needs with technical opportunities. In my current role as a project lead at Samsung's Think Tank Team, I explore new product and technology opportunities through targeted prototyping and frequent demos to high-level stakeholders within Samsung. My typical week involves a mix of definition/planning for my team, focused technical work (lately: Python and Unity), and spontaneous collaborations with other projects within the interdisciplinary lab.
Before joining this team at Samsung in 2018, I've had the privilege of collaborating with several other remarkable teams of people. This includes a year with the startup Medella Health, a three-month internship at HP Inc., an eight-month research co-op at Caltech, two research co-ops at Harvard University (totaling 12 months), and a four-month research co-op at the University of Waterloo.
I received a Master's degree from Stanford University focusing on Design Methodology. Prior to that, I obtained my Bachelor's in Nanotechnology Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Patents & Publications
I have filed 15+ non-provisional patent applications and co-authored 5+ articles. Feel free to explore here as well as on Google Scholar.
Industry Inventions
Integrating electronic and physical workspaces. "N Clarke, F Yilmaz, C Aumiller" - US App. 17/853,731. 2022
Systems and Methods for Temperature Profile Control of Microwave Oven Devices. "BR Patton, PM Lopez, JY Cho, N Clarke, ME Tena, GAG Sosa, C Kim, ..." - US App. 17/316,497. 2021
Laterally offset parallax barriers in multi-view display. "N Clarke" - US 11474372. 2020
Academic Research
Resilient 3D hierarchical architected metamaterials. "LR Meza, AJ Zelhofer, N Clarke, AJ Mateos, DM Kochmann, JR Greer" - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 (37), 11502-11507. 2015
Optimization of multiple-slot waveguides for biochemical sensing. "I Khodadad, N Clarke, M Khorasaninejad, D Henneke, SS Saini" - Applied Optics 53 (23), 5169-5178. 2014
Scalable photonic crystal chips for high sensitivity protein detection. "F Liang, N Clarke, P Patel, M Loncar, Q Quan" - Optics Express 21 (26), 32306-32312. 2013
Professional & Academic Projects
Note: Due to the confidential nature of my work at Samsung's Think Tank Team, many of these descriptions are intentionally vague until details are publicly announced. Hopefully more info can be shared in the near future 🤞.
XR Project
Defining a new vision for productive XR - building new hardware interaction modes and the software experiences it enables.
Kitchen Project
User-centered paradigm shift on a classic kitchen appliance, using novel technology and algorithms to change the way we cook.
Smart Contact Lenses
Development of flexible electronics and fabrication procedures for glucose-monitoring smart contact lenses
Side Projects
A selection of some fun side projects where I'm experimenting and learning things along the way.
Real-time Generative UI for AI-powered Brainstorming
ConceptStudio reimagines ideation tools, winning 3rd place in AI UX SF 2024 - Tools for Thought. This project explores the potential of generative UIs that emerges with ultra-low-latency LLMs and uses it to create a Figma-style canvas with AI-powered concept tools that react to the ideas you are exploring. (Video)
Exploring AI within Design Your Life
The Stanford Life Design Lab applies design thinking to tackling the "wicked" problems of life and vocational wayfinding. In an unofficial collaboration, we're exploring opportunities to utilize AI & LLMs to address needs for both students and Life Design facilitators.
Self-capture for Dermatology
Local dermatologists report that 30-50% of patient-submitted photos are unsuitable for virtual care due to poor framing or and user error. To address this, we introduced a solution combining inexpensive stickers and a guiding camera app to improve image quality, earning second place at Stanford health{hacks}.