By Eileen Conrad

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 his or her 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 the 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.”

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.