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Luna Chairman and CEO Receives Distinguished Alumni Award

Virginia Western Community College Honors Dr. Kent Murphy

(ROANOKE, VA, Nov. 19, 2007) – Dr. Kent Murphy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Luna Innovations Incorporated, was honored by Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) with a Distinguished Alumni Award. The Virginia Western Alumni Association established the award in 2006 to recognize VWCC alumni and former students who have attained extraordinary distinction in his or her professional field or life. The award serves to honor the men and women whose attendance at Virginia Western helped them achieve their educational and professional goals and better serve their communities.

After completing courses at Virginia Western in 1982, Murphy went on to Virginia Tech where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science and Mechanics as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in Electrical Engineering. He then became a tenured professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at Virginia Tech.

Murphy co-founded Luna Innovations in 1990, when as a graduate student, he and Mike Gunther, Luna’s Vice President of Intellectual Property, invented a unique strain gauge used by the aerospace industry for monitoring the health of aircraft designs. From there, interest in the company grew and technology development expanded. Today, Luna develops and manufactures new-generation products that measure, monitor, protect and improve critical processes in healthcare, telecommunications, energy and defense markets. The company has more than 220 employees in five locations throughout Virginia.

As a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award, Murphy’s name will be displayed on a plaque on the Virginia Western Distinguished Alumni Wall on campus, and he will be featured in Impact, The Word from Western, the Alumni Association’s monthly e-newsletter.

To be nominated for the Distinguished Alumni Award, a candidate must be a graduate of Virginia Western or have completed a minimum of two semesters; have attained extraordinary distinction and success in his or her profession or life; have attained regional, statewide or national prominence and have significant involvement in civic, cultural or charitable affairs. Charlotte Tyson, the Chief Operating Officer and Interim CEO of Lewis-Gale Medical Center, was also selected this year as a Distinguished Alumni.

To learn more about the Virginia Western Distinguished Alumni Award, visit http://alumni.virginiawestern.edu/site/c.iiKWLaPMLrF/b.1993657/k.7D14/Distinguished_Alumni_Award.htm. For more information about Luna Innovations, see www.lunainnovations.com.

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