CARY – John Palmour, one of the co-founders of Cree (now called Wolfspeed) died on Sunday at age 62.
An alum of N.C. State, Palmour was remembered fondly by the university and Wolfspeed.
Palmour was chief technology officer of Wolfspeed. He elected as a member to the National Academy of Engineering earlier this year.
From N.C. State:
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering shares with great sorrow the passing of alum Dr. John Palmour on Sunday, November 13, 2022.
John was one of the founders of Cree, Inc./Wolfspeed and served as its Chief of Technology. John earned his B.S. in 1982 and his Ph.D. in 1988, and was inducted into the MSE Hall of Fame in 2015. John was also a recipient of the College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.
John was a strong supporter and advocate for the department, college, and university.
From Wolfspeed:
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our Chief Technology Officer John Palmour. The entire Wolfspeed family mourns this loss.
From the start, John led with intelligence, humor, integrity and passion. As one of our founders and an expert technologist, John championed the adoption of Silicon Carbide across many applications and industries, and in doing so impacted so many of our lives for the better.
Beyond Wolfspeed, the contributions John made to science and our world are immeasurable and will be felt for generations to come. On behalf of our management team and employees, we extend our deepest sympathies to John’s family.
An obituary and more information can be found at this website.
Wolfspeed co-founder John Palmour elected to National Academy of Engineering
