Kyma Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of crystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) and gallium nitride (GaN) materials and related products and services, is pleased to announce the  selection of their Chief Operating Officer (COO), Dr. Heather Splawn, as a 2011 Triangle Mover and Shaker.

The Triangle Movers and Shakers award recognizes leaders who are inspirational and devoted to both their coworkers and the community. The award is sponsored by Business Leader Media, which puts out the well-known Triangle Business Leader Magazine. Nominees must be either rising leaders within companies with more than 100 employees or C-level executives leading rising companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Dr. Splawn will be amongst area winners this evening at the Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, when Business Leader Media holds its 2011 Triangle Mover & Shaker Awards dinner. The winners will also be featured in an upcoming issue of Business Leader magazine.

Dr. Splawn joined Kyma in early 2010 as Director of Business Development, and around the same time she was awarded a Corporate Research Postdoctoral Fellowship for Engineers sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the American Society for Engineering Education. In late 2010 she took on the role of Vice President of Operations. In August 2011 she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

Dr. Splawn received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Duke University in 2009. She was the Founding President of the University of South Carolina Chapter of Upsilon Phi Epsilon, an International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines. She served on the Executive Council of Phi Beta Kappa at USC and served as the President of the Engineering Graduate Student Council and then as a student representative to the Executive Committee of Graduate Faculty while at Duke. She is also a co-founder and former Director of Operations and Director of Finances of The DOUGHMAN, a charity race that promotes sustainability and local foods while benefiting SeeSaw Studio and the Durham Inner-city Gardeners program at the SEEDS community garden.

“Heather’s contributions at Kyma have been manifold and of the highest caliber,” said Keith Evans, Kyma president & CEO. “She is fearless and her drive to pursue excellence is unabated. She leads by example and selflessly teams with others. And the fact she can balance that kind of intense and long-hours effort at work with strong leadership at the community level is extraordinary.”

About Kyma Technologies:

Kyma is a leading supplier of crystalline nitride semiconductor materials including gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum nitride (AlN), and aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) and related products and services.

The market for nitride semiconductor devices was $12B in 2010 and is expected to surpass $90B over the long term, including $60B in visible lighting applications and $30B in power electronics applications.

Kyma’s materials products enable higher electrical efficiency in all of their customers’ applications, in support of a greener tomorrow.

For more information about Kyma Technologies, visit www.kymatech.com, e-mail info@kymatech.com, or call the company directly at 919.789.8880.

Kyma is a registered trademark of Kyma Technologies, Inc.