Veeco Instruments Establishes Endowed Chair in Engineering Sciences

Veeco Instruments Inc. has established an endowed chair at UC Santa Barbara that will support the teaching and research of a pioneering scholar in engineering or the sciences.

The Veeco Chair will be awarded to an eminent scholar in the College of Engineering or the Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences who develops or uses scanning probe microscopy to advance nanoscale characterization in their field.

Veeco will also donate a scanning probe microscope system to support the chairholder's work.

"Veeco's history as a manufacturer of atomic force microscopes is closely tied to UCSB, so we are, therefore, extremely pleased to establish this important chair," said Mark R. Munch, executive vice president, Veeco Metrology.

"We have enjoyed a strong relationship with UCSB over the years as scientific collaborators, pioneers in nano instrumentation technology development, and as partners in the Santa Barbara community."

Veeco is an international leader in the development of instrumentation used to advance scientific research and nanotechnology.

The corporation made the recent gift to honor its long and successful partnership with the university.

"Veeco has provided a gift that will enable us to attract another world-class leader in the field of scanning probe techniques," said Matt Tirrell, Auhll professor and dean of UCSB's College of Engineering.

"We will be able to recruit someone who is advancing the frontiers of science in nanoscale characterization of materials.

There have been many UC Santa Barbara graduates who have joined Veeco, making them one of our best industrial partners.

Cooperation between Veeco scientists and UCSB scientists and engineers has been tremendously and mutually beneficial."

Endowed chairs are highly prized academic positions that enable a university to attract and retain top faculty members and to develop more fully a field of study by providing ongoing unrestricted financial support for enhanced research and instruction.

"As the world leader in atomic force microscopy, we are excited to support UCSB's faculty and students in their exploration of future scanning probe microscopy technologies," added David Rossi, vice president and general manager, Veeco's Nano-Bio Atomic Force Microscope business.

In 1998, Veeco acquired Santa Barbara-based Digital Instruments, the first company to make the power of atomic force microscopy readily available to scientists and engineers.

With the instruments, researchers could view and explore nanoscale features and structures never seen before.

It was a critical starting point in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Veeco has continued to make significant investments in atomic force microscopy technology.

Over the years, Veeco has been a generous campus benefactor, providing support for engineering and the sciences, the California NanoSystems Institute, the Materials Research Laboratory, and the UCSB writing program.

Veeco manufactures enabling solutions for customers in the high brightness-LED, solar, data storage, semiconductor, scientific research, and industrial markets.

It holds leading technology positions in its three businesses: LED and Solar Process Equipment, Data Storage Process Equipment, and Metrology instruments.

Veeco's manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific.

Since the inception of The Campaign for UC Santa Barbara in 2000, UCSB's endowment –– now estimated at $201 million –– has grown by $126 million.

Fifty-four new endowed professorships have been established during the campaign, bringing UCSB's total to 78.