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Wolfspeed ahead: an NC State spinoff powers the future

Wolfspeed

John Palmour, second from right, speaks during a panel discussion at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on NC State's Centennial Campus in October 2022.

Jan 19, 2024

Scholarship, professorship honor late Wolfspeed founder

John Palmour and his wife, Nancy Palmour, a 1985 alumna of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, had previously established the Palmour Family College of Engineering Fellowship Endowment and the Palmour Family Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship Endowment for engineering students. 
Aerial view of ongoing construction of the new Wolfspeed materials facility in Chatham County, NC.

Jan 19, 2024

Growing at Wolfspeed

The founders of Cree, Inc. started a company based on the potential of silicon carbide, a finicky but promising compound long employed as an abrasive but with the potential for much more. 
A late evening aerial view of the Kampala, Uganda landscape. A small mountain peak surrounded by low clouds wrapped around the treetops is on the left and the setting sun is on the right.

Aug 1, 2023

Generous Wolfspeed donation enhances SciBridge students

At NC State University, students and faculty have access to some of the most advanced research equipment available to push the boundaries of Materials Science…. 
Hand holding a red card with an outline of a howling wolf cutout so as to see the view of the brick building and landscape behind. Day of Giving 3/22/2023 #GivingPack is written in white letters on the card.

Jun 6, 2023

COE students and faculty members are the real winners on record-setting Day of Giving

Thanks to an outpouring of community support, the College finished in second place for most gifts received during the 2023 Day of Giving. 
Bronze wolf statue profiled against backdrop of yellow autumn leaves.

Jan 24, 2023

Generous gift from Wolfspeed extends Palmour legacy in College of Engineering

The gift is establishing the John Palmour Distinguished Professorship in Materials Science and Engineering as well as the Wolfspeed Endowed Scholarship in Memory of Dr. John Palmour. The scholarship will provide need-based support for undergraduates in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, where Palmour earned his bachelor’s degree (1982) and Ph.D. (1988). 
John Palmour, second from right, speaks during a panel discussion at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on NC State's Centennial Campus in October 2022.

Nov 18, 2022

College mourns loss of John Palmour

The College of Engineering notes with great sadness the death of John Palmour, an alumnus of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and founder of local companies Cree, Inc. and Wolfspeed. Palmour died on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. He was 62. 
An artist's rendering of an aerial view of the to-be-built Wolfspeed plant.

Oct 20, 2022

Wolfspeed ahead: an NC State spinoff powers the future

The company that pioneered LED lighting now looks to improve the efficiency and performance of electric vehicles and other high-power applications. Meet the people building the world’s largest silicon carbide manufacturing facility in Chatham County.