Corporate Technology - Rolf Hellinger

Bernhard Stapp
Since joining Siemens,
Dr. Bernhard Stapp has
worked in many different
fields, some of them outside
of Corporate Technology.
Today, he is head of the
Solid State Lighting Business
Segment at Osram Opto
Semiconductors.
From Optical Fibers to
Luminescent Plastics
My new boss at Medical Engineering
wanted someone with an unprejudiced attitude,”
says Bernhard Stapp, referring to his
switch from Corporate Technology in Erlangen,
Germany, to Siemens’ ultrasound center in Issaquah
near Seattle, Washington, in the early
1990s. From his training, Stapp, who was 37 at
the time, was not the most likely candidate to
prepare a new generation of ultrasound devices
for the market. “When I joined CT, I was a materials
researcher for fiber-optic cables, which were
being developed for data transmission back
then.” A trained chemist, Stapp wasn’t worried
that he had to acquire new skills before being
able to really take on the task — on the contrary.
“I liked the job because my knowledge complemented
that of my colleagues,” he says. In 1995,
Stapp returned to CT, where he became head of
the Competence Center for Electronic Materials.
“Besides working on semiconductor materials,
such as photoresists, we also began to develop
luminescent plastics known as organic lightemitting
diodes (OLEDs). These organic semiconductors
emit light when an electric current is
passed through them,” explains Stapp. “I managed
to convince the head of Osram-Opto that
this technology had a future.” The next phase in
Stapp’s career followed two years later, when he
was appointed head of the Materials & Microsystems
department (see p. 12) in Berlin.
“We were involved in a wide variety of optoelectronic
activities, such as the development of
phosphors for light-emitting diodes, which
would transform the blue light generated by
semiconductor crystals into white light. Today,
50 Corporate Technology
phosphors are used in all white LEDs from Osram,”
says Stapp. As a result of these contacts to
the opto-semiconductor business at Siemens,
which would later become Osram Opto Semiconductors,
Stapp was able to take the next step
in his career in 2001, when Dr. Rüdiger Müller
asked him to become the chief technology officer
of his team in Regensburg. Stapp played a
crucial role at Osram Opto Semiconductors in
the development of LED and OLED technology.
In 2007, he was appointed head of the Solid
State Lighting Business Segment, with responsibility
for LEDs and OLEDs used in general lighting
applications.
Stapp has fond memories of his time at Corporate
Technology. “It provided me with deep insights
into a wide range of technologies,” he
says. “It was great to work in such a creative environment.”
Outside of CT, in the various Siemens
Divisions, the focus is clearly on products. “I like
that a lot too. Forging ahead with practical projects
until a product is ready for market,” says
Stapp. Today, he still likes to make use of CT —
for example, when he needs support in areas
such as numerical mathematics, in which Osram
Opto Semiconductors has no expertise of its
own. “CT is strong here,” he says. “With their algorithms,
the researchers have greatly helped us
improve the efficiency of processes in production
control and logistics.” Something that still
fascinates Stapp about Siemens is how quickly
employees can switch from one job to another.
“You need to be flexible and not only have your
sights on your career,” he says. “I have never regretted
any of the changes I’ve experienced.”
Vishnu Swaminathan
Vishnu Swaminathan had a
keen interest in technology
even as a child. Today, he
works as a computer scientist
at Corporate Technology in
Bangalore, India, where he
researches embedded systems
that are very cost effective
and competitive.
A Specialist
in S.M.A.R.T.
It’s an old cliché that top-notch researchers
are not natural communicators, but Vishnu
Swaminathan certainly doesn’t fit that mold.
When he talks about his research field of embedded
systems, his enthusiasm immediately
carries over to his audience. It’s a trait that
seems to run in the family, because his father,
who was Director of the Defense Electronics Research
Laboratories in Hyderabad, a city in
south-central India, was also a great believer in
the value of science.
Swaminathan was born in what is now
Chennai, the fourth largest city in India. Until
1996, Chennai was known as Madras. Since
2004, together with Bangalore and Hyderabad,
the city has emerged as an important center for
software development.
And this is where everything comes full circle
for Swaminathan, who began his professional
career at the University in Madras. After
obtaining his bachelor’s degree in computer science
and engineering in 1996, he went on to
earn his PhD in electrical and computer engineering
at Duke University in the U.S. “I already
knew when I was still at school that I wanted to
do something technical,” says Swaminathan,
“and that I would like to work in research and
development.”
After receiving his doctorate, he returned
home to India in 2004, arriving at just the right
time. Mukul Saxena, an engineer also returning
to India from the U.S., had just been given the
job of developing CT India, and Swaminathan
happened to be in the right place at the right
time.