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Luna Innovations Recognized with National Award

BLACKSBURG, VA, Oct. 15, 2002 - Luna Innovations was presented the prestigious Tibbetts award during a ceremony in Washington, DC, on Oct. 3. These national awards are presented annually by the U.S. Small Business Association to small businesses working in research and development to recognize them as "models of excellence" in high technology.

The Tibbetts award winners were selected based on the economic impact of the technological innovation, overall business achievement and demonstration of effective collaborations, among other accomplishments. Luna Innovations has spun–off five independent businesses over the last three years. These companies are making optical communication systems faster, enhancing energy production and safety, enabling drug discoveries, improving diagnostics for disease treatment, and improving business efficiency through remote asset management. Many of the technologies in which these companies are based were derived from a successful Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract.

The SBIR program is widely acknowledged as producing some of the government’s most highly rated research. “We are honored to have been among the few companies selected for this national recognition,” says Ben Plowman, Luna’s Vice President of Federal Programs. SBIR promotes commercialization of the innovations derived from the federal research effort. Federal grants and contracts for the research and development proposals are awarded on a competitive basis.

This is the seventh year for the Tibbetts award, named for Roland Tibbetts, who spearheaded the creation of the SBIR program. This is the second time, since 1998, Luna has been presented this award. For more details on the SBIR program and the complete list of Tibbetts award recipients, visit www.sba.gov/SBIR/indextibbetts.html.

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