Dr. Shuji Nakamura Named Recipient of The Cree Chair at UCSB's Center for Solid State Lighting and Displays
Durham, NC. Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), today announced that Dr. Shuji Nakamura was named the recipient of the Cree Chair at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Center for Solid State Lighting and Displays. Cree pledged $1.2 million to the College of Engineering at UCSB in September 2000 toward the endowment of the Cree Chair and to support research in the field of gallium nitride-based electronic materials and devices. Dr. Nakamura, a materials professor at UCSB, is currently the director of the UCSB Center for Solid State Lighting and Displays.
Dr. Nakamura joined the UCSB faculty in February 2000. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including most recently the 2000 Honda Prize conferred annual by the Honda Foundation of Japan. Dr. Nakamura is the 21st recipient of the prize and the third Japanese to be so honored. In addition, his other awards include the 1994 and 1997 Japan Society of Applied Physics awards, the Nikkei 1995 Best Products and 1996 Excellent Products awards, the 1996 Society of Information Display Special Recognition Award, the 1996 IEEE Laser and Electro-Optics Society Engineering Achievement Award, the 1996 Nishina Memorial Award, the 1997 Ohkochi Grand Technology Prize, the 1997 Materials Research Society Medal, the 1998 British Rank Prize and the 1998 IEEE Jack A. Morton Award. He is the author of 170 scientific papers and three books.
Neal Hunter, Chairman of Cree stated, "We are very pleased to support UCSB s commitment to gallium nitride-based research and are excited that Dr. Nakamura has been named the recipient of the Cree Chair. Dr. Nakamura has been widely recognized for work on gallium nitride-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). The energy-efficient white LEDs are targeted to replace incandescent lights and are expected to use significantly less energy than the conventional incandescent bulb. We believe a large number of new white light applications will emerge beyond existing applications as solid state illumination technology continues to evolve."
Dr. Shuji Nakamura said, "I am honored to be the first holder of the Cree Chair in Solid State Lighting and Displays. Cree is recognized worldwide as a leader in solid state lighting and as a key pioneering company in the development of the exciting new compound semiconductor technology that uses gallium nitride on silicon carbide. Cree financially supported the Solid State Lighting and Displays Center here at UCSB from the beginning, and we are grateful for that support."
UCSB s Dean of Engineering, Matthew Tirrell, who holds The Richard A. Auhll Chair, said, "The Cree Professorship in Solid State Lighting and Displays represents a superb match of excellence. The world s leading gallium nitride researcher now holds an endowed professorship named for the company which has been in the vanguard of efforts to bring this technology to market, where it will surely transform the way we light both indoors and out. We appreciate Cree s commitment to quality."
North Carolina-based Cree, Inc. develops and manufactures semiconductor materials and devices based on silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN) and related compounds. The company s products include blue, green and UV LEDs, RF power transistors for use in wireless infrastructure applications, Schottky diodes for power conditioning and switching, SiC crystals used in the production of unique gemstones and SiC wafers sold for use in production and in research and development. Cree has new product initiatives based on its experience in SiC and GaN-based semiconductors, including blue laser diodes for optical storage applications, high frequency microwave devices for radar and other communications systems.
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including uncertainty whether technological advances required to develop and manufacture energy efficient white LEDs as described above can be achieved; uncertainty whether such products can be manufactured and sold with acceptable margins; the rapid pace of development of lighting technologies and the risk that products based on other technologies may find greater market acceptance; and other factors discussed in Cree s report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2001 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact: Fran Barsky, Investor Relations Manager of Cree, Inc. Tel: 919 313-5397 Fax: 919 313-5452
Fran Barsky, Investor Relations Manager of Cree, Inc.Tel: 919 313-5397
Fax: 919 313-5452
