Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society (CSTS) recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its signature program, the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) by doing what it always has - pairing up to 20 of the most promising social entrepreneurs with experienced Silicon Valley business mentors for months of learning and networking—capped off with a two-week stint of classes at Santa Clara University (SCU), and a grand-finale summit at which they presented their business plans to Silicon Valley financiers, executives and others.Addressing ‘the gap between good intentions and skilled execution’ successfully has been a hallmark of GSBI since its inception, and Applied Materials is proud to have been involved in various ways with this exceptional program year after year.The program has had notable successes throughout the developing world —helping to transform social ventures like micro-lender, Kiva; Indian rural electrification pioneer, Husk Power Systems; and optical health leader, VisionSpring, to name just a few of the nearly 200 startups that have successfully completed the rigorous 10-month process.

I can’t resist one last update on the Solar Decathlon. Last week Team California took third place in the Solar Decathlon, a huge win, considering their size vs. some of the other schools. The Santa Clara University students should be proud of their results, especially in architecture, where they had set a specific goal to improve.

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.

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.

Applied Materials has sponsored the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, but is also lending its technical and monetary support to two California schools that teamed together for this year’s contest, Santa Clara University and the California College of the Arts. Their entry, Refract House, is a “zero-energy” house that will compete in a number of challenges on the National Mall in October.