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Luna Innovations Receives Serial Award

Virginia's first Small Business Research Commercialization Awards presented at Annual SBIR Conference

BLACKSBURG, VA, Oct. 19, 2004 - Luna Innovations Incorporated is the recipient of the Serial Commercialization Award given to the company that repeatedly demonstrates successful commercialization of its technology. The Virginia Small Business Research Commercialization Awards is a program launched this year to recognize the Commonwealth’s small businesses for achievements or potential in commercializing technology developed under the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer programs and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). The awards were announced Oct. 13 at a reception during Virginia's 10th Annual SBIR Conference in Arlington.

"You can trace each of Luna's five spin-off company's technologies back to SBIR and ATP programs that enabled us to mature technology to the point where we could attract outside investors," said Scott Meller, COO at Luna Innovations. "Revenue generated in these spin-off companies has allowed us to grow significantly since 2000, establishing offices across Virginia in Roanoke, Charlottesville, Danville, Hampton, and Baltimore as well." Luna Innovations received this award based on their most recent spin-off success formerly known as Luna iMonitoring, now named IHS iMonitoring. This Roanoke-based division of Colorado-headquartered IHS Energy, was launched by Luna Innovations in September 2002 and acquired by IHS in October 2003. "The multiple wireless SBIR contracts Luna Innovations worked on over the past 3-4 years laid a great foundation for the commercialization of a leading edge solution for monitoring and managing remote assets using highly integrated wireless sensors," said Ken Ferris, formerly CEO of Luna iMonitoring and now VP of iMonitoring Operations, a division at IHS Energy based in Roanoke. Last month, IHS Energy formally announced "iNodes" - its new line of wireless sensors for the upstream petroleum market at a premiere petroleum conference held in Houston, Texas. Field tests have concluded that the iMonitoring wireless sensing solution is today providing a more cost-effective and efficient means to manage oil and gas wells by optimizing well performance while reducing labor, transportation and administrative costs. “We have seen significant interest in our wireless product which has moved quickly from the early adopter phase into a broad set of customers, many who are repeat buyers as they bring more assets on-line," commented Ferris. Luna Innovations continues to focus on the commercialization of innovative technologies. The company is hopeful that several technologies currently in the development pipeline, such as concealed weapon detection, secure wireless communications or environmentally-friendly flame retardants, will follow a similar path to success. The Virginia Small Business Research Commercialization Awards program was developed by American Express Tax and Business Services Inc., Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, and Virginia Business magazine.

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