DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE: WOLF), the worldwide chief in Silicon Carbide expertise, at this time introduced the promotion of Elif Balkas to Chief Technology Officer, succeeding the late Dr. John Palmour, a co-founder of Wolfspeed.

“Since her start with Wolfspeed in 2006, Elif has been instrumental in our technology and production development, and she was the clear choice to help steer Wolfspeed as we continue to lead the transition from silicon to Silicon Carbide,” mentioned Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe. “One of John’s greatest legacies is the talent he nurtured and developed on the Wolfspeed team, and we are confident Elif will continue to drive innovation in Silicon Carbide with passion, ingenuity and leadership.”

In her function as Vice President of Research and Development in Wolfspeed’s Materials group, Balkas formed the corporate’s technical technique on large bandgap supplies and drove its growth execution to take care of Wolfspeed’s place as a pacesetter in Silicon Carbide for Power and RF system purposes. She has overseen a number of important expertise milestones throughout her tenure on the firm, together with the event of 150mm and 200mm boule development techniques and processes, the dramatic discount in crystal defect ranges that noticed greater system yields, and developments in wafer processing.

“I’m excited to continue building upon the legacy that John created and unlock new innovations and applications for Silicon Carbide,” mentioned Balkas. “It’s an exciting time of growth at Wolfspeed and I look forward to the new challenge of finding greater efficiencies as we continue to expand the reach of our technology.”

Balkas brings greater than 20 years of expertise within the expertise {industry}. Prior to Wolfspeed, she served in quite a lot of management positions in R&D and operations, specializing in creating Silicon Carbide crystal development and GaN applied sciences which are scalable for manufacturing functions and that allow extra environment friendly and highly effective digital techniques. She acquired her Ph.D. in Materials Science from North Carolina State University and is a co-founder of the Wolfspeed Women’s Initiative, an worker useful resource group targeted on encouraging, creating and supporting girls who prepared the ground in innovation.

About Wolfspeed, Inc.:

Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) leads the market within the worldwide adoption of Silicon Carbide and GaN applied sciences. We present industry-leading options for environment friendly vitality consumption and a sustainable future. Wolfspeed’s product households embrace Silicon Carbide supplies, energy units and RF units focused for numerous purposes resembling electrical automobiles, quick charging, 5G, renewable vitality and storage, and aerospace and protection. We unleash the facility of potentialities via exhausting work, collaboration and a ardour for innovation. Learn extra at www.wolfspeed.com.

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