Industry Innovators – Cree’s John Palmour

John Palmour, co-founder of Cree and CTO for the power and RF business units

What significant technological and/or business innovations have you accomplished? 
While pursuing my Ph.D. at North Carolina State University, I founded Cree in 1987 with five other co-founding partners. Since that time, Cree has grown to more than 6,500 employees worldwide. My work at Cree has focused on developing wide bandgap semiconductor technology for power and RF commercial applications. I estimate that SiC power electronics have helped save more than $2 billion in electricity worldwide, which obviates the need for eight coal fired power plants. We have also developed and shipped RF GaN HEMTs and MMICs into counter-IED systems in Iraq and Afghanistan that have helped save numerous lives.

I hold both a B.S. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from North Carolina State University. I was awarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award by the College of Engineering in 2009, and I currently serve on the university’s Board of Visitors. I am also an IEEE Fellow since 2012.

Briefly describe any patents
Throughout my career I have been responsible for 47 U.S. patents in the areas of processing and device designs for SiC and GaN electronic devices.

What enabled your success (a mentor, research, an idea/observation)?
My personal success hinged on the support of my co-founders at Cree. We pushed one another to the limits of our capabilities, building off of one another’s strengths and never settling for mediocrity. By surrounding ourselves with like-minded people who were also driven to innovate, we have been able to take Cree to the level of success it enjoys today.

 
What thoughts do you have to help fellow engineers succeed?
As an engineer, if you believe in yourself and your ideas, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Attack challenges head on and avoid taking short cuts; and learn the difference between “perfect” and “good enough.” If you spend too much time refining a great idea, you may miss the opportunity to create a market or capitalize on an existing one.

Are there any favorite sayings that you use to keep yourself focused?
Something that I find myself repeating often is, “if it was easy, everybody would be doing it.”

Any other thoughts?
In business, don’t be afraid to be bold in the pursuit of your goals. I always look back on the time when we founded Cree with amazement. We were just too young and inexperienced to listen to others in the industry who said it couldn’t be done; but we believed in one another and what we were doing, and that is what got us where we are today.