DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 13 -- Cree Inc. said that 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 chair and to support research in the field of gallium nitride-based electronic materials and devices. Nakamura, a materials professor at UCSB, is currently the director of the UCSB Center for Solid State Lighting and Displays. Neal Hunter, Cree chairman said, "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."