Dr. Bala Bharadvaj is a globally recognized Aerospace Professional with more than four decades of experience. He holds solid academic credentials in Aerospace Engineering: B.Tech. degree from IIT Madras (India); M.S. & Ph.D. degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. He also has an MBA from University of California, Irvine.

He has worked both in the US and in India, and excelled as a Researcher, Technologist, Systems Thinker, Strategic Planner, Program Manager, Intrapreneur, Teacher, and Inspirational Leader. He has held several leadership positions at Boeing and retired as the Managing Director of Boeing’s Engineering & Technology Center in India, the largest such Boeing Center outside the US.

Dr. Bharadvaj has also worked in academia – as a faculty member of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering at Boston University for several years, and an Adjunct Professor at other US universities.

During his distinguished career, Dr. Bharadvaj has been recognized with many prestigious awards.

• He has led teams that won the (1) Team Excellence Award and (2) Group Achievement Award from NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration).

• The Boeing Company has honored him many times; he has received the Quality Hero Award, Process Management Role Model Award, CEO Recognition, and three Chairman’s Awards - for Safety, Quality and Diversity & Inclusion.

• Other organizations that have recognized his contributions include Sigma-Xi Scientific Research Society, Beta-Gamma-Sigma Business Honor Society, American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, and Industrial Engineering & Operations Management Forum. In 2019, he received an “Honorary Doctor of Science” from Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science in Chennai.

During his career, Dr. Bharadvaj has been an active member of the broader technical community for many years and has contributed to the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), NASSCOM (India), Industrial Engineering & Operations Management Forum, SAE International and SAEINDIA.

At SAEINDIA, he established the Aerospace segment and helped to bring together many leaders from the public and private sectors to strengthen aerospace activities. He was President of SAEINDIA during 2018-2020 and is currently an Advisor to the Managing Committee and Chairman of the Building Committee.

He is an Associate Fellow of AIAA. He is also an Invited Member of the Research Council of the National Aerospace Laboratories in India.