The Multicore Association, a global non-profit organisation focused on developing standards that help speed time to market for products that involve multicore implementations, has announced that Renesas Electronics Corporation has joined the consortium as an executive board member. [ + ]

Michigan Technological University scientists have developed 3D graphene, an inexpensive material that could replace the platinum in solar cells without degrading their efficiency. [ + ]

MIT researchers have developed a palm-sized rechargeable flow battery prototype that generates three times as much power per square centimetre as other membraneless systems. [ + ]

EMC Technologies has commissioned a new semi-anechoic chamber (SAC) in Sydney at its Seven Hills laboratories. [ + ]

Olympus, a manufacturer and distributor of optical, electronic and precision engineering products, for scientific, medical and industrial applications, has launched a new online store. [ + ]

Applied Materials has appointed Gary E Dickerson as president and chief executive officer and Michael Splinter as executive chairman of the board of directors, effective 1 September 2013.  [ + ]

Micron Technology’s 16-nanometre (nm) NAND process technology has been chosen by Flash Memory Summit as the 2013 Best of Show award winner in the category of Most Innovative Flash Memory Technology. [ + ]

Toshiba, HGST, Seagate and WD have launched a new storage association - the Storage Products Association (SPA). [ + ]

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a sensor device that converts a signature or a fingerprint directly into light signals that can be captured and processed optically. [ + ]

University of Adelaide researchers are developing low-cost technology that can ‘talk’ to structures like bridges and aeroplanes to monitor their structural health and assess them for damage. [ + ]

Global microprocessor sales are set to reach a record-high $61 billion in 2013 mostly due to strong demand for tablet computers and mobile phones that connect to the internet, according to a research bulletin by IC Insights. [ + ]

MathWorks has announced that MATLAB and Simulink have been deployed to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Synchronised Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) project. [ + ]

element14 has partnered with TE Connectivity to showcase the latest products and technologies for material handling and industrial control applications to customers in the Asia-Pacific region. [ + ]

Siemens plans to build a maintenance and repair facility at Tonsley to service its energy technology business. The Siemens facility, which is expected to be operational in October 2014, will employ about 25 people, with plans to double the workforce as the business grows. [ + ]

A UNSW spin-off company with a promising optical sensor technology has declined a $10 million offer from Chinese investors to move offshore, opting instead to pursue their start-up dream in Australia. [ + ]