Applied Materials has once again rallied employees for the company’s Annual Food Drive.  With a history of more than 30 years of community involvement, Applied runs one of the largest corporate food drives in North America where employees join together to donate time, food and funds to make a difference in the community. 

Applied Materials President Gary Dickerson and Kathy Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties kicked off the 2012 Applied Materials Food Drive at the company headquarters in Santa Clara, CA by donating more than 8,000 pounds of food.

Things are looking up … always up… since the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot started eight years ago.  A solid base of volunteers has supported an ever growing number of community members who gather in downtown San Jose to join a 5K walk or 10K run on Thanksgiving morning.  And, the dollars raised for three charities have hit a new high each year.

Join us this Thanksgiving morning for the Turkey Trot by registering TODAY to help generate funds for Second Harvest Food Bank, the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, and the Children’s Health Initiative.

Help us put the 2012 Silicon Valley Turkey Trot over the top!

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I’m proud to share that Applied Materials was recognized today for its outstanding support of military veterans and National Guard and Reserve members and has been designated a 2013 Top 100 Military Friendly Employer by G.I. Jobs.Read more

It is a thrill to experience the energy, creativity, and enthusiasm of young people from around the world as they apply their curiosity and talents to address significant global challenges.  There are budding scientists and innovators all around us and I have been fortunate to recently visit with some of the best.

On an October Saturday in Datong City, China, one hundred students from 35 universities melded into five integrated, multi-lingual teams and immediately found their unique competitive spirit.  The teams eagerly answered trivia questions, celebrated correct answers, and were awarded materials allowing them to build a traditional Chinese structure – an Ancient Chinese Bucket Arch which is created by locking beams and requires no nails or cement to stand for hundreds of years. Amazing!Read more

Why is a smartphone like a hummingbird? Neither can go more than a few hours without refueling, or bad things happen. (If you answered that smartphone owners are often forced to flutter around looking for a power outlet, I’ll accept that, too.)

Do you know where the power goes? As the graphic shows, around half your battery is spent on the display alone. And of that, the vast majority is used simply to power the backlight that all LCDs need. (The situation for AMOLED displays is similar, but for different reasons. That’s a subject for a future blog.)

Clearly, improving the power efficiency of the display is a powerful way to improve battery life. Turning the brightness down isn’t a helpful strategy. Indeed, we expect displays to be brighter and richer all the time, but not at the expense of already limited battery life. (Bigger batteries would also work, but the market has spoken on that one. Slim is in!)

How is this to be accomplished? Find out after the jump.

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