Staff News

ANNOUNCING THE MORY EJABAT ENDOWED CHAIR

The College of Engineering and Computer Science is pleased to announce the inaugural recipient of the Mory Ejabat Endowed Chair in the Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management.

Behzad Bavarian, PhD
Professor Bavarian has taught a wide range of graduate and undergraduate classes and laboratories in the area of materials engineering. His colleagues commend him for his teaching effectiveness, and as a researcher and scholar, he has been consistently impressive, acquiring prestigious grants such as funding from the W.M. Keck Foundation for a project on integrating nanotechnology in undergraduate education, and his service as co-PI on the nationally recognized AIMS2 program. His scholarship has a tremendous positive impact on CECS students and their careers, as evidenced by the numerous students from his classes who have gone on to pursue further studies and advanced degrees in engineering. He truly exemplifies the “hands-on” nature of the college’s curriculum through his work as a teacher and scholar, and students are very fortunate to learn from one of the very best in the field of materials engineering.

The Ejabat chair is awarded to a tenured full professor with an outstanding record in both scholarship and teaching, and a proven ability to acquire external funding to support research and/or teaching to further the mission of the university and the college. Recipients are appointed by the president with the recommendation of the provost, the college dean and the college personnel committee for a five-year renewable term.

ABOUT MORY EJABAT
The Mory Ejabat Chair in Engineering and Computer Science was endowed with a $1 million gift from engineering double alumnus Morteza “Mory” Ejabat (’76 industrial engineering, ‘79 systems engineering). CEO and founder of Dictum Health, Ejabat is also cofounder of Zhone Technologies, where he has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1999 and was president and CEO unil 2014. Prior to cofounding Zhone, Ejabat held various senior management positions with Ascend Communications, Inc, which in 1999, during his tenure as president and chief executive officer, was successfully sold to Lucent Technologies, Inc. “My degrees from Northridge in industrial and systems engineering have been the foundation of my success as an engineer, CEO and entrepreneur. I could not have done it without CSUN,” said Ejabat.

RETIRING
The college bade farewell to Jerry Siano, who retired in June 2016 after 30 years of dedication and service. He worked in the engineering shop and in Technical Services. Everyone at CECS wishes him the very best in his future endeavors. He will be missed!

WELCOME
CECS welcomed staff member Ms. Magda Azouz, who became the manager of academic resources after serving CSUN in several leadership positions for over a decade, including senior financial analyst in the Tseng College of Extended Learning and account manager and schedule of classes coordinator in the College of Science and Mathematics. Prior to joining CSUN, Azouz had a distinguished career in the banking and insurance industries, serving as a financial analyst at Banca Nazionale del Lavoro S.p.A., in Los Angeles for over 17 years. Azouz earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Mr. Deazell Johnson rejoined CECS as the educational outreach coordinator and retention advisor, having left his six-year office manager positon in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) to serve as a program manager in the Tseng College of Extended Learning. Prior to ECE, he started as a student assistant and administrative support assistant in CECS. Johnson earned his B.A. in screenwriting and M.A. in education administration in higher education at CSUN, and is actively pursuing his Ed.D in educational leadership.

Mr. Malik Sooch joined CECS as the new director of development. Sooch is a seasoned fundraising professional, with over two decades of experience in nonprofit development, management and information technology. Most recently, he was at Caltech, where he was responsible for regional major gift fundraising. His background and experience are a great fit for the college, and he is already an asset to the CECS team as it seeks to build philanthropic support for college and CSUN programs. Sooch has an MBA in finance from the University of Redlands and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.