Natel Engineering honors employees, helps CECS students

Last spring, Dr. Prakash Bhartia was called into the office of Sudesh Arora, founder, president and CEO of Chatsworth-based Natel Engineering, where Bhartia holds the title of engineering fellow. Bhartia, an IEEE life fellow with more than ten books and 250 technical papers to his credit, has made significant technical contributions to the company during the 12 years he has worked there. Arora told him that the company was establishing a scholarship program at CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science in honor of its employees and that he had been chosen as one of the first two honorees.

Will Bolinger, Natel’s vice president for operational excellence and quality assurance, learned in an executive staff meeting that he too was being honored with a scholarship in his name at CECS.

“I’ve always believed that formal education was very important,” Bolinger says. “It’s one of the few things no one can ever take away. The recipient of the Natel scholarship in my name is a firstgeneration immigrant from Eastern Europe, who saved for 20 years just to be able to go back to school and fulfill a dream. I was proud of being able to help him in a small way.”

Natel operates in a high-growth area and according to a spokesman for the company, its success is due to its employees. The scholarships were set up to recognize their efforts and to encourage them to have a connection to the community.

“The employees love making a difference in the world around them,” he says. “By recognizing them and giving them a chance to reconnect with the university, they are more engaged as employees and human beings.”

Although Bhartia held an adjunct professorship in the college some years back, he is delighted to have the connection renewed.

“I’m really thrilled that the company would do this,” he says. “Obviously, it’s a good way to honor your employees. It’s definitely motivating.”

The two scholarships, awarded for the 2014–15 academic year, are just the beginning, the Natel spokesman says. The company intends to keep adding more scholarships each year, not only to continue honoring its employees but as an investment in the future of the nation.