National Instruments has opened registration for the 2012 NI Technical Symposiums. [ + ]

Plessey has agreed to a product licensing agreement with Intel. [ + ]

Trio Smartcal is holding a training workshop on thermography in February. [ + ]

Four companies have formed a partnership to evaluate the re-use of lithium-ion battery packs that power the Nissan LEAF electric car. [ + ]

With strong growth in smartphones, AMOLED shipments are estimated to have reached 90 million units in 2011. [ + ]

Imec is working together with Flamac to develop new materials for solar cell applications. [ + ]

In response to falling large-area TFT LCD panel prices in 2011, panel makers have minimised their production. [ + ]

Solar companies will face the challenge of rebuilding margins during a period of increasing diversity as global demand is projected to grow 6% in 2012. [ + ]

A multirobotic study at an Auckland retirement village has been launched. [ + ]

Three companies have made what they claim is a crucial step towards successful commercialisation of organic photovoltaic cells. [ + ]

Richardson has entered into a global distribution agreement with RECOM. [ + ]

The Telecommunication Labelling Notice has recognised the IECEE Certification Body Scheme. [ + ]

A micromachined harvester for vibration energy with a record output of 489 µW has been created. [ + ]

According to a survey of over 300 engineers, the most influential factor in choosing engineering as a career is “a talent for mathematics/science”. Universities in Australia have produced 61% more domestic graduate scientists than engineers, yet there are 10 times the number of engineering jobs listed than scientific roles. [ + ]

Silver-free heterojunction silicon solar cells have been created by applying copper electroplating, which was developed by Kaneka, based on imec’s existing copper electroplating technology. [ + ]