December 09, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend

Applied Materials today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on March 5, 2009 to stockholders of record as of February 12, 2009.

November 12, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Fiscal 2008 Full Year and Fourth Quarter Results

Fourth quarter net sales were $2.04 billion, down from $2.37 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, and up from $1.85 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Gross margin was 39.1 percent, down from 45.5 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, and down from 40.2 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. GAAP net income was $231 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, down from net income of $422 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, and up from $165 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2008.

Fiscal 2008 net sales were $8.13 billion, down from $9.73 billion for fiscal 2007. Gross margin for fiscal 2008 was 42.4 percent, down from 46.1 percent for fiscal 2007. GAAP net income for fiscal 2008 was $961 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, down from net income of $1.71 billion, or $1.20 per diluted share, for fiscal 2007. New orders of $9.16 billion for fiscal 2008 decreased from $9.68 billion for fiscal 2007.

September 25, 2008

ADDING MULTIMEDIA Applied Materials Appoints Alexander Karsner to Board of Directors

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced the appointment of Alexander “Andy” Karsner to serve on its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Karsner has also been appointed to serve as a member of the Strategy Committee of the Board.

September 17, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on December 4, 2008 to stockholders of record as of November 13, 2008.

August 12, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Results for Third Quarter of Fiscal 2008

Applied Materials, Inc. reported results for its third fiscal quarter ended July 27, 2008. Net sales were $1.85 billion, down 28 percent from $2.56 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2007, and down 14 percent from $2.15 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Gross margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 was 40.2 percent, down from 47.5 percent for the third quarter of fiscal 2007, and down from 45.0 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 was $165 million, or $0.12 per share, down from net income of $474 million, or $0.34 per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2007, and down from net income of $303 million, or $0.22 per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2008.

August 11, 2008

Applied Materials Advances Semiconductor Research at UC Berkeley With Significant Equipment Donation

Applied Materials is advancing semiconductor research with an equipment and service donation to the University of California, Berkeley’s Nanofabrication Laboratory in the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). CITRIS is a center of excellence for graduate students, faculty and industrial researchers to create nanotechnology solutions for many of the world’s most pressing social, environmental and health care issues. Applied Materials’ gift consists of processing equipment and a service contract valued in excess of $5 million. The systems complement Applied Materials equipment that was donated to the university in 2002. CITRIS will foster work on novel semiconductor devices and their integration with nanowires/nanotubes, microelectomechanical systems (MEMS), optoelectronics, and bioelectronics. The systems donated by Applied will be used to deposit two of the most critical thin films that are part of next-generation integrated circuits: epitaxy and gate dielectrics.

Applied Materials Awarded Multi-Year Solar Service Contract From Green Energy Technology

Applied Materials, Inc. announced today that it has signed a five-year service contract with Green Energy Technology Inc. (GET) of Taiwan to support GET’s Applied SunFab™ Thin Film Line for solar module manufacturing. Through its SunFab Performance Service™ program, the most comprehensive service offering in the solar industry, Applied will reduce operating costs while enabling a quick ramp to volume production. Applied’s SunFab Performance Service program has already reached strong momentum at leading solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers in Europe and Asia, exceeding $100M in contracts for both single and tandem junction thin film PV applications. Under the agreement, Applied will service GET’s Applied SunFab Thin Film Line using an unmatched range of engineering, logistics and automation software technologies. In addition to preventive and corrective maintenance, spare parts management and analytical services, Applied and GET will work together to develop continuous improvement programs and total factory optimization to enable low operating costs and on going productivity gains.

August 05, 2008

Applied Materials Promotes Gilad Almogy to Senior Vice President

Today, Applied Materials announced the promotion of Gilad Almogy, Ph.D., to senior vice president and general manager of the Display and Thin Film Solar Products Business Group, which provides deposition and test systems used in flat panel display manufacturing and equipment for Applied’s SunFab™ thin film solar production lines.

July 22, 2008

Applied Materials Breaks Ground for Taiwanese Manufacturing Center Expansion

Today, Applied Materials held a groundbreaking for an expansion project of its Tainan Manufacturing Center. This expansion, with a total investment estimated at around US$17 million, will increase the company’s ability to meet the demand for both its AKT flat panel display equipment and SunFabTM Thin Film Solar manufacturing equipment. The new facility is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. The Applied Materials Tainan Manufacturing Center will supplement existing operations for display and solar in the United States and Germany. The expansion will add 7,200 square meters of new production area, bringing the total manufacturing area in Tainan to 14,000 square meters. When complete, the campus will have about 150 employees.

July 14, 2008

Applied Materials Wins Key System Support Contract with Inotera

Applied Materials, Inc. announced today that it has signed a two-year system support contract with Inotera Memories, Inc., a leading DRAM manufacturer in Taiwan. The contract covers all Applied systems in Inotera’s 300mm facilities. Under this agreement, Inotera is expected to realize significant cost savings over their current practices, as well as improved system productivity.

July 09, 2008

Moncada Enters Solar Energy Market with Contract for Applied Materials’ SunFab Thin Film Line

The Moncada Energy Group s.r.l., a leading private producer of renewable energy in Italy, has awarded Applied Materials, Inc. a contract to establish what will be Moncada’s first photovoltaic (PV) module production facility and Applied’s first SunFab^™ line in Italy. The Applied SunFab Thin Film Line will produce large 5.7m² single junction PV modules at a facility to be located in Campofranco, Sicily, and is expected to have an annual rated capacity of 40MW. Applied’s SunFab production line will add to Moncada’s existing power production capacity of more than 105MW in wind energy, and will expand Italy’s growing infrastructure of renewable energy installations. Moncada plans to use the SunFab-produced modules to build solar farms on some of the same land where its wind turbines are located, effectively double-harvesting its clean energy resources.

July 08, 2008

Applied Materials Breaks Ground for Asia Operations Center in Singapore

At a ceremony today, Economic Development Board Chairman Lim Siong Guan, Applied Materials executives, and U.S. Ambassador Patricia Herbold broke ground for the construction of a new Singapore operations facility that will serve as a hub for Applied’s business activities throughout Asia. The 32,000 square meter facility in the Changi North Industrial Park is expected to be completed in late 2009 and will be designed to meet some of the highest green building standards in the world. Applied also announced an innovative education initiative at the event. The Operations Center will be a base for global purchasing, sales, manufacturing, engineering and financial groups to support the Asia region chip industry and the rapidly growing solar markets in India and China. New operations will help achieve reductions in material cost and cycle time while expanding Applied’s merge-in-transit and global supply chain capabilities. Employees will also continue to support Singapore’s strong chip manufacturing industry.

June 23, 2008

Applied Materials Releases Statement Regarding its SunFab™ Thin Film Solar Technology

Applied Materials, Inc. today released the following statement regarding its thin film solar technology:

June 15, 2008

Applied Materials Responds to Decision of Supervisory Board of ASM International

Applied Materials, announces that its non-binding proposal to the Supervisory Board of ASM International N.V. for the possible acquisition of ASMI's ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) and CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) businesses remains open, despite the Supervisory Board's recent rejection of the offer and counter-reply. Applied Materials' proposal reflects a purchase price of between U.S. $400 million and U.S. $500 million in cash for these businesses, subject to due diligence.

June 13, 2008

Applied Materials Appoints Stephen R. Forrest to Board of Directors

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced the appointment of Stephen R. Forrest to serve on its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr. Forrest has also been appointed to serve as a member of the Strategy Committee of the Board.

June 11, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on September 4, 2008 to stockholders of record as of August 14, 2008.

June 06, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Non-binding Proposal to ASM International

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that it has made a non-binding proposal to ASM International N.V. for the possible acquisition by Applied Materials of the Atomic Layer Deposition and Chemical Vapor Deposition businesses of ASMI for a price up to a range of U.S. $400 million to U.S. $500 million, subject to due diligence. There is no assurance that a transaction will result from these discussions. Applied Materials undertakes no obligation to make any further disclosures regarding a possible transaction with ASMI.

May 30, 2008

Applied Materials Selected by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar to Build 210MW of Solar Module Production Capacity

As part of its Masdar Initiative, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. is significantly expanding its investment in solar energy by contracting with Applied Materials to purchase three SunFab™ Thin Film Lines for producing solar modules. With an optional tandem junction upgrade, these SunFab lines are expected to annually produce modules with a targeted capacity of up to 210 megawatts (MW), or enough energy to power approximately 70,000 homes. One of the SunFab lines to be supplied by Applied will be located in Erfurt, Germany, and is expected to start up in the second half of 2009. The other two lines will be located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and are expected to start up in early 2010. These lines will help supply solar power to Masdar City, the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city, designed to be fully powered by renewable energy, and also will help support the broader global need for clean sources of energy.

May 21, 2008

Dr. Randhir Thakur Joining Applied Materials as General Manager of Strategic Operations

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that Randhir Thakur, Ph.D. is re-joining the company as senior vice president and general manager of Strategic Operations, initially helping to lead operations for the company’s Applied SunFab™ Thin Film Line for producing solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. Dr. Thakur was most recently executive vice president of technology and fab operations at SanDisk Corporation, the world’s largest supplier of flash memory data storage products. Prior to SanDisk, he worked at Applied Materials for five years in executive roles within semiconductor product groups.

May 13, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Results for Second Quarter of Fiscal 2008

Applied Materials, Inc. reported results for its second fiscal quarter ended April 27, 2008. Net sales were $2.15 billion, down 15 percent from $2.53 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, and up 3 percent from $2.09 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Gross margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was 45.0 percent, up from 44.9 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, and up from 44.8 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was $303 million, or $0.22 per share, down from net income of $411 million, or $0.29 per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2007, and up from net income of $262 million, or $0.19 per share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2008.

Sunfilm to Expand Solar Module Production with 2nd SunFab Tandem Junction Line from Applied Materials

Due to strong demand for its solar modules, Sunfilm AG announced today that it has awarded Applied Materials, Inc. a contract for a second Applied SunFab™ Thin Film Line. This second production line will be installed next to Sunfilm’s first line in Grossroehrsdorf, near Dresden, Germany. Sunfilm’s first Applied SunFab Line, ordered last year, is expected to begin initial production runs this July, with the second line scheduled for start up approximately one year later. This will bring Sunfilm’s annual capacity at this site to over 120MWp.With these production lines, Sunfilm is setting a new benchmark for the solar industry by manufacturing the world’s first tandem junction, silicon thin film photovoltaic modules using 5.7m2 glass panels. These ultra-large substrates also offer the flexibility to produce finished solar modules of half and quarter size, depending on customer preferences.

May 12, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Powerful SunFab Performance Service; Signs Multiyear Agreement with T-Solar

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced another first for the solar industry with its SunFab Performance Service™ program. This unique service solution guarantees the performance cost and output of the Applied SunFab™ Thin Film Line for producing solar modules, enabling continuous cost reduction based on megawatt output. As the most comprehensive integrated support solution in the solar industry, the SunFab Performance Service allows customers to quickly ramp to volume production and optimize the efficiency and productivity of their SunFab™ Line. As part of this service agreement, Applied will manage and optimize T-Solar’s SunFab Line performance with a wide variety of engineering, logistics, technology and automation software solutions. In addition to all preventive and corrective maintenance and complete parts management, Applied will provide continuous improvement programs and total factory optimization to enable low operating cost and on-going productivity gains.

Applied Materials, Inc. today launched its Applied Inflexion™ edge polishing system, a unique, high-precision defect removal system that polishes and cleans the critical wafer edge region. Since defects on the wafer edge can be transferred to the active device area during processing, eliminating them can potentially increase overall yield by up to 10%.(1) The Applied Inflexion is the only system that polishes the entire wafer edge, removing film stack residues and shallow surface defects in a single pass while minimizing the exclusion area in order to maximize the number of good die. In addition, the system precisely controls the edge profile, enabling customers to tailor the film-to-wafer interface to meet a wide range of integration requirements.

April 28, 2008

Applied Materials Appoints James E. Rogers to Board of Directors

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced the appointment of James E. Rogers to serve on its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Rogers has also been appointed to serve as a member of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and the Strategy Committee of the Board. Rogers is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the United States.

March 11, 2008

Linda Heller to Join Applied Materials as Vice President of Investor Relations

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that Linda Heller has joined as vice president, Investor Relations, responsible for Applied’s relationships with investors, financial analysts and the broader financial community. Ms. Heller most recently served as vice president, finance for the Operations division of Amgen.

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on June 5, 2008 to stockholders of record as of May 15, 2008.

February 12, 2008

Applied Materials Announces Results for First Quarter of Fiscal 2008

Applied Materials, Inc. reported results for its first fiscal quarter ended January 27, 2008. Net sales were $2.09 billion, down 8 percent from $2.28 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, and down 12 percent from $2.37 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Gross margin for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 was 44.8 percent, down from 46.7 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, and down from 45.5 percent for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 was $262 million, or $0.19 per share, down from net income of $403 million, or $0.29 per share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2007, and down from net income of $422 million, or $0.30 per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.

December 02, 2008

Applied Materials’ New Enabler E5 System Solves Critical Contact Etch Challenges for 32nm Memory Chips

Applied Materials, Inc. today unveiled its Applied Centura® Enabler® E5 dielectric etch system, the industry’s most advanced solution for creating the 40:1 high aspect ratio contact features that are critical to the yield and performance of 32nm and below DRAM and Flash memory chips. The Enabler E5 sets a new benchmark in profile control, enabling customers to manufacture high performance, robust, next-generation memory devices with >80% bottom-to-top CD ratios across the wafer, and with less than 3nm bowing of the contact sidewall. Central to the Enabler E5 system’s performance are its unique reactor architecture and precise process control that provide repeatable, uniform vertical profiles at high aspect ratios globally – from edge-to-edge and wafer-to-wafer – addressing a critical yield inhibitor at higher memory densities. The proprietary chamber technology also provides more efficient cleaning, delivering 50% longer between-maintenance intervals than any competitive system

December 01, 2008

Applied Materials Delivers High-Performance TSV Etch with Innovative Silvia™ System

Applied Materials, Inc. today unveiled its Applied Centura® Silvia™ Etch system, specifically designed to enable high-performance, low-cost, through-silicon via (TSV) applications. In addition to delivering a higher silicon etch rate and significantly lower operating costs than competitive systems, the Silvia system’s precise profile control enables the smooth, vertical via sidewalls that are critical for the subsequent deposition of high-quality liner and fill films. The highly flexible Silvia system can etch both silicon and oxide in the same chamber, making it an ideal choice for established and emerging TSV integration schemes. The Silvia system’s uncompromising performance is achieved with Applied’s proprietary time-multiplexed gas modulation (TMGM) process. While conventional TMGM processes etch vias with heavily scalloped sidewalls that are difficult to fill, the Silvia system achieves smooth, vertical profiles at the rapid etch rates required for high productivity manufacturing.

November 30, 2008

Applied Materials Introduces Aerial Imaging to the Wafer Fab for Boosting Lithography Productivity

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced its Applied Aera2™ for Lithography system. Using the system’s IntenCD™ technology in the fab, semiconductor manufacturers can improve wafer critical dimension uniformity (CDU) by more than 20%, increasing device yield and lowering the per-wafer cost of patterning. In addition, the Aera2 for Lithography can be used to extend photomask lifetime and bring productivity gains to the entire lithography cell. Key to this new lithography application is the Aera2 platform’s IntenCD technology that creates high precision, high definition CDU maps from the aerial image of an entire reticle. By replacing wafer-based measurements with IntenCD maps, the time to decision shrinks from two days to as little as an hour, and accuracy improves by eliminating cumulative errors that can arise from multiple wafer processing steps. The improved uniformity data allows advanced scanners to compensate for CD variations, delivering major improvements in linewidth accuracy on product wafers and ultimately, increased yield.

July 15, 2008

Applied Materials’ New eHARP System Extends Production-Proven STI Gap-Fill Technology to 32nm and Beyond

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced its Applied Producer® eHARP™ system, extending the production-proven HARP SACVD®1 gap-fill technology for critical STI2 device structures to 32nm and beyond. The eHARP process delivers void-free films to fill <30nm, >12:1 aspect ratio features – essential requirements for the fabrication of advanced memory and logic devices. Featuring proprietary new process innovations, the eHARP system’s robust, high-density, strain-inducing films enable the scaling of conventional planar and emerging 3-D device structures. The Producer eHARP technology offers the lowest overall cost-per-wafer compared to non-CVD gap-fill technologies. Virtually carbon-free, the eHARP film requires no protective liners or capping layers, easily integrates with conventional CMP processes and provides reliable, robust device isolation. In addition, the eHARP system’s proven process chemistries do not generate hazardous liquid byproducts that would necessitate specialized chemical disposal.

Applied Materials Delivers Critical Copper Barrier Technology for Memory Chips with Extensa PVD System

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced its Applied Endura® Extensa™ PVD1, the industry’s only production-worthy system for depositing the critical barrier films for copper interconnects in sub-55nm memory chips. The Extensa system’s unique titanium/titanium nitride (Ti/TiN) process technology enables diffusion barrier films with benchmark step coverage and <3% film thickness non-uniformity across the wafer, while achieving best-in-class defectivity and >25% lower CoC2 than competing systems. The Applied Extensa system’s outstanding performance, already proven at multiple customer sites, is the result of several innovations in PVD technology that are implemented on the Extensa Ti/TiN deposition chamber. A novel dual-magnet PVD source with flux-shaping side electromagnets enables unmatched step coverage and defectivity below 10 particles at =0.12 micrometer. The proprietary source technology also makes more efficient use of deposition material, delivering a 30% improvement in target life. In addition, the single piece chamber kit features Applied’s proprietary CleanCoat™ technology for ease of maintenance and particle control.

July 14, 2008

Applied Materials’ Producer System Delivers Highest Productivity Etch for Advanced Memory Interconnects

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its portfolio of applications on the Applied Producer® Etch system to include interconnect etch for advanced Flash and DRAM memory chips. Responding to the need for a high productivity, cost-effective system to perform the increasing number of dielectric etch steps required for fabricating these structures, the Producer Etch system delivers >30% higher throughput and >50% longer MTBC1 than currently installed systems, plus cuts the cost of consumables in half. The Producer Etch system has achieved strong momentum, with 25% year-on-year installed base growth since its release in 2002. The system’s proprietary reactor design, which has been highly successful in both dielectric and polysilicon etch applications including bond pad, etchback and recess formation, enables high throughput, high yield dielectric etch in DRAM and NAND Flash interconnect structures from the 8Xnm to 4Xnm technology nodes.

July 10, 2008

Applied Materials Launches Breakthrough E3 Equipment and Process Control Solution for Boosting Fab Productivity

Applied Materials, Inc. today announced its Applied E3™ advanced equipment and process control solution, a comprehensive factory automation (FA) software package for improving the productivity and reducing the costs of semiconductor, flat panel display and photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing. Utilizing proprietary algorithms, the Applied E3 system can boost process capability by >30%, reduce unscheduled down time, and shorten cycle time to achieve up to a 20% increase in overall equipment effectiveness. The Applied E3 system uniquely integrates all critical equipment automation and process control components to deliver the most flexible, user-friendly and powerful fab-wide Equipment Engineering System solution on the market today.

July 02, 2008

USDC and Applied Materials Collaborate to Develop Advanced Films for Next Generation Display Products

The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC), a public/private partnership chartered with developing the flat panel display and flexible electronics supply chain, today announced a cost-shared contract award with Applied Materials, Inc. to develop metal-oxide films for next-generation thin-film transistors (TFTs). Oregon State University (OSU), a pioneer in transparent electronics, will work with Applied’s Display Business Group-AKT, in this USDC-sponsored program, bringing together the U.S. government, private industry and university research to enable critical innovations for future display technology. The R&D program will address two main challenges for future displays — to significantly improve device performance and reduce display cost per area. New metal-oxide films are one of the promising disruptive technologies for next-generation panels since they have higher electron mobility and the potential to reduce costs through lower temperature processing. Metal oxide films are also expected to be used for fabricating flexible displays and backplanes for OLED applications.

Green News

October 10, 2008

ADDING MULTIMEDIA Governor Schwarzenegger Showcases California Solar Solutions at Applied Materials

Today California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dedicated the 2 megawatt solar power system at the Applied Materials campus in Sunnyvale, California, one of the largest corporate solar power installations in the United States. The Governor praised Applied’s work in the solar industry after viewing the extensive parking lot-based solar array as well as a demonstration of the company’s thin film solar technology. The Applied Materials solar system in Sunnyvale incorporates more than 7,000 wafer-based solar panels made by SunPower Corporation using Applied’s Baccini™ Cell Systems, and is capable of generating approximately 2 megawatts of power each year. The parking lot-mounted system tracks the sun to increase the efficiency of the panels while also serving as shade for several hundred employee cars. The solar power system is expected to prevent more than 2,700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of approximately 450 passenger cars.

May 30, 2008

Applied Materials Selected by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar to Build 210MW of Solar Module Production Capacity

As part of its Masdar Initiative, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. is significantly expanding its investment in solar energy by contracting with Applied Materials to purchase three SunFab™ Thin Film Lines for producing solar modules. With an optional tandem junction upgrade, these SunFab lines are expected to annually produce modules with a targeted capacity of up to 210 megawatts (MW), or enough energy to power approximately 70,000 homes. One of the SunFab lines to be supplied by Applied will be located in Erfurt, Germany, and is expected to start up in the second half of 2009. The other two lines will be located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and are expected to start up in early 2010. These lines will help supply solar power to Masdar City, the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city, designed to be fully powered by renewable energy, and also will help support the broader global need for clean sources of energy.

May 20, 2008

Applied Materials Introduces Unique Environmental Card Game for Children

Applied Materials today announced the launch of its Bright Future™ card game, an innovative tool for teaching sustainability and environmental concepts to children in a fun and flexible way. Intended for ages nine and up, the card game provides an interactive and easy-to-use aid for teachers across the United States to help students better understand how their actions can affect the planet. Sponsored by Applied Materials, the Bright Future card game was developed in conjunction with two teachers as part of the Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME) program. The card game is currently being evaluated in 25 public and private schools across three states involving more than 1,200 students. Participants in this testing phase include schools in San Jose, California; San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; and McMinneville, Oregon, among others. Applied Materials intends to make the card game available at no charge to interested teachers for the 2008/2009 school year, along with a Teacher’s Guide.