Veeco Selected to Join Solid-State Lighting & Development Center at University of California, Santa Barbara.

WOODBURY, N.Y. -- Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), a leading supplier of epitaxial equipment used in the manufacture of high-brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LEDs), today announced that it has been selected to join the Solid-State Lighting and Display Center (SSLDC) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Headed by leading nitride researchers Dr. Shuji Nakamura, Dr. Steve DenBaars, Dr. James Speck and Dr. Umesh Mishra, the SSLDC's mission is to develop novel materials and device technology for high efficiency solid-state lighting.

As a member company, Veeco will support research efforts in the development of new materials as well as new epitaxial growth methods for the advancement of solid-state lighting. Veeco will work in collaboration with UCSB faculty and student researchers, as well as other member companies, to address the challenges affecting the solid-state lighting industry. Since 2001 ten large solid-state lighting companies have joined SSLDC, including Veeco.

Steve DenBaars, Executive Director, Solid-State Lighting and Display Center, commented, "As a supplier of some of the most advanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems, Veeco is a perfect addition to the center's team. Their extensive epitaxial reactor design knowledge and process insight will contribute greatly to the advancement of the center's goals."

William Quinn, Chief Technologist, Veeco Compound Semiconductor, said, "This relationship with UCSB allows Veeco to collaborate with some of the top researchers in the world toward the development of future evolutions of compound semiconductor technology. In addition, we are particularly pleased to become a part of UCSB's efforts in light of their recent selection by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a core project to receive funding for solid state lighting and compound semiconductor research."

About Veeco

Veeco Instruments Inc. provides solutions for nanoscale applications in the worldwide data storage, HB-LED/wireless, semiconductor and scientific research markets. Our Metrology products are used to measure at the nanoscale and our Process Equipment tools help create nanoscale devices. Veeco's manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona and Minnesota. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia Pacific. Additional information on Veeco can be found at http://www.veeco.com/.

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations about market conditions, market acceptance and future sales of Veeco's products, Veeco's future financial performance, future disclosures, or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the challenges of continuing weakness in end market conditions and the cyclical nature of the data storage, semiconductor, HB-LED/wireless and scientific research markets, risks associated with integrating acquired businesses and the acceptance of new products by individual customers and by the marketplace and other factors discussed in the Business Description and Management's Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.