Mark Walker's blog

Applied Materials supports The Prince of Wales' Rainforests Project's call for emergency action to help combat climate change by addressing rainforest destruction. Join this urgent challenge; to add your name to this cause, please add it below or visit the project's web site.

Electricity is a luxury in rural Bangladesh. More than 80% of the country’s rural population is off the grid, and light — from hazardous kerosene lanterns — is a precious and expensive resource.

During the rainy season — which seems to get longer each year — local farmers struggle to keep farms intact as melting glaciers in the Himalayas and unusually heavy rains cause rivers to flood and sea levels to rise to unprecedented levels. In such conditions, day-to-day activities become a struggle.

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.

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.

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.