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. 

Long the symbol of a good idea, tungsten (also known as wolfram – but that’s another story) light bulbs have been deemed a bad idea by the European Union. As of today the EU has officially banned the sale of frosted tungsten light bulbs with the idea of moving to more energy efficient lighting. Also, clear bulbs over 100W must be transitioned to more efficient types by 2012.

Last week we announced that Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, made a strategic investment in Tera-Barrier Films, a newly incorporated spin-off from the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE).

Applied Materials Chairman and CEO Mike Splinter greeted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in front of a demonstration of the world's largest and most powerful solar panel as she visited the company's Sunnyvale, Calif. campus for a briefing with Silicon Valley CEOs.

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.

Across the U.S. high school students are taught American history, and who can forget the famous midnight ride in 1775 of Paul Revere sounding the alarm off to early American colonists of British soldiers marching to their towns. Revere’s warning symbolizes the start of the American Revolutionary War.

 President of Applied Solar, Charlie Gay gives GreenTech Media's Michael Kanellos a tour of the company's solar lab to learn more about the benefits of amorphous silicon solar modules and the importance of technology in scaling solar and making it more affordable than other sources of energy such as fossil fuels.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations (center) stands in front of the world's largest thin film solar panel (5.7m2) manufactured by Applied Materials' SunFab production line during a visit to the company's SunFab Solar Module Reliability Testing facility on Saturday. Mr.