Exhibit 99.01

   Contact: Fran Barsky                               PRESS RELEASE
            Investor Relations
            Cree Research, Inc.
            (T) 919-313-5397
            (F) 919-313-5452
            www.cree.com

                  CREE RESEARCH, INC. ANNOUNCES TWO-FOR-ONE

                                   STOCK SPLIT

Durham, NC, July 13, 1999 - Cree Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), the world leader
in the  development and  manufacture of  semiconductor  materials and electronic
devices  made from  silicon  carbide  (SiC),  announced  today that its Board of
Directors has approved a  two-for-one  stock split.  The  effective  date of the
split will be July 26, 1999, which also is the record date.

Shareholders   of  record  on  July  26,  1999  will  be  issued  a  certificate
representing one additional share of common stock for each share of common stock
held on the record date. The additional  share  certificates  will be issued and
mailed on or about July 30, 1999 by the company's transfer agent, American Stock
Transfer & Trust Company. Upon completion of the split, the company will have 60
million shares of authorized common stock with approximately 29.3 million shares
outstanding.

North Carolina  based Cree Research,  Inc. is the world leader in developing and
manufacturing  semiconductor  materials and electronic devices made from silicon
carbide.  The company uses  proprietary  technology  to make  enabling  compound
semiconductors  such as blue and green LEDs,  microwave  transistors  for use in
wireless base stations and radar,  SiC crystals used in the production of unique
gemstones  and SiC  wafers  that  are sold for  research.  Cree has new  product
initiatives  based on its  expertise  in SiC,  including  blue laser  diodes for
optical storage  applications and high power devices for power  conditioning and
switching. For more information on Cree visit http://www.cree.com.

This press  release  contains  forward-looking  statements  that are  subject to
numerous  risks  and  uncertainties,  including  fluctuations  in the  company's
operating   results,   variations   in   production   yields  in  the  company's
manufacturing  processes,  whether the company can develop improved  products to
meet new product offerings by competitors,

                                   -- more --



the effect of price  competition,  the company's  dependence  on few  customers,
whether the company can manage  growth  effectively,  assertion of  intellectual
property  rights by others and  adverse  changes in economic  conditions  in the
company's markets. These and other risks and uncertainties,  which are described
in more detail in the company's  report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 28,
1998, subsequent quarterly reports, and the company's  registration statement on
Form S-3 dated January 14, 1999,  all as filed with the  Securities and Exchange
Commission,  could cause actual  results to be materially  different  from those
expressed or implied by any of the forward-looking statements.

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