Former Joint Chief of Staff Member General Merrill A. McPeak joins Quintessence Photonics Corporation as Vice Chairman.

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( SYLMAR , CA ) December 15, 2005 — Quintessence Photonics Corporation (QPC), a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative high power semiconductor lasers, announced today that General Merrill A. McPeak (retired) will join the QPC board of directors as Vice Chairman as of January 1, 2006.

General McPeak is President of McPeak and Associates, providing management, marketing and technical expertise to aerospace and other clients. He is or has been a Director of several public companies, including Tektronix, TWA and ECC, Intl., where he served as Chairman of the Board. He has been active in raising funds and directing companies in the early development stage, with a focus in the high tech sector.

Prior to his involvement as president of McPeak and Associates, General McPeak was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from October 1990 until October 1994. During this period, he was the senior officer responsible for organization, training and equipage of a combined Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve and Civilian work force of over 850,000 service members at 1,300 locations in the United States and abroad. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other Service Chiefs were military advisors to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President of the United States .

General McPeak entered the Air Force in 1957 as a Distinguished Graduate of the San Diego State College ROTC program. He flew 269 combat missions in Vietnam . Senior leadership assignments included command of the 20th Fighter Wing in NATO, the Twelfth Air Force and the Pacific Air Forces.

“General McPeak brings a wealth of leadership, management, and corporate governance experience to QPC. He is widely recognized and well respected in both the corporate world and defense establishment.” George Lintz, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of QPC said. “ As Air Force Chief of Staff, he was responsible for funding the initial phases of the Airborne Laser program” added Jeffrey Ungar, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of QPC.

General McPeak said, “I am extremely pleased to join this strong QPC team and help bring this new generation of advanced and revolutionary technology to the defense and homeland security sector”

About Quintessence Photonics Corporation
Quintessence Photonics Corporation manufactures advanced technology high power laser diodes and arrays for industrial, military, and medical applications. For more information, please contact George Lintz at (818) 833-4668 or by email at info@qpc.cc.