Corporate Responsibility

Appropriately, it was a warm, sunny afternoon in Washington, D.C. as the 2009 Solar Decathlon officially kicked off yesterday with a full color guard ceremony complete with several hundred solar devotees and the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu.

Vote today! Help make Team California the winner of the 2009 Solar Decathlon People's Choice Award. From your cell phone text the code HOUSE31 to 99503. One vote per cell phone allowed. Spread the word and help Santa Clara University be #1.

It’s a great week for the solar power industry in Washington, D.C. thanks to 20 teams of university students competing in the 2009 Solar Decathlon. Each team has entered a solar powered home in the contest and over the next two weeks will have to surmount a number of obstacles and compete in a variety of events to try to win the number one spot, but every one of them is a unique opportunity to educate the public about the possibilities of solar power.

Most people have heard about Habitat for Humanity but not everyone is lucky enough to share the excitement of a family walking into their new home for the first time — especially when the house is powered by the sun! On Saturday October 3, I had the opportunity to do just that when a single woman, her two sons and their grandmother moved into the Tech House in Santa Clara, California — a project jointly sponsored by Applied Materials, eBay, Coherent and Symantec. Just before the ribbon on the front door was cut, keys handed over, and a teen aged son opened the door to their

Decathlon heroes of the past who graced Wheaties cereal boxes race through my mind. Clay, O'Brien, Jenner, Mathias, Johnson, Toomey, and Thorpe. These U.S. Olympic decathlon gold medalists epitomize the title of best all around athlete, almost super-human.

Green Power! On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented us with a 2009 Green Power Leadership Award for our commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. This is a significant achievement for Applied, as we were one of only three organizations nationwide to receive an award for on-site generation of green power.

Over the past 40 years, Applied Materials has been at the center of two of the biggest revolutions of our time – the computer revolution and communications revolution.  These technology waves have forever transformed the way we live our lives, the way we interact with one another and the way we understand the world around us. 

Applied Chairman and CEO Mike Splinter visited with fifth grade students at Grant Academy in San Jose earlier this week to talk to them about renewable energy and the importance of math and science in preparing for a career in the clean tech industry.