National Technical Systems Founder, Vice Chairman Aaron S. Cohen Named UCLA 'Alumnus of the Year' for 2012

CALABASAS, Calif., Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- National Technical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of testing and engineering services, announced today that Aaron S. Cohen, the Company's co-founder and currently its Vice Chairman and Senior Vice President, has been named "Alumnus of the Year" by UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Cohen will receive the award at a gala UCLA Engineering Awards Dinner Nov. 2 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Cohen, who received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from UCLA in 1958, founded NTS in 1961 and has been an active member of its senior management team and Board of Directors ever since. He has held the positions of Chairman and President and is currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Senior Vice President.

Cohen and his wife, Nancy, have established the Nancy D. and Aaron S. Cohen Scholarship, an endowed scholarship for engineering students designed to inspire academic excellence and achievement.  Cohen's generosity has insured the continued success of numerous engineering students, according to Vijay K. Dhir, Dean of UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

"NTS has been an industry leader in Southern California for the past 51 years. Certainly, this is due to Aaron's vision, leadership and commitment to engineering excellence," Dhir said. "He is a wonderful supporter of the school and our students, and valued member of the Dean's Advisory Council."

The "Alumnus of the Year" Award is given to alumni who have brought honor and distinction to the school and have established new standards of excellence to which others in their fields may aspire. Recipients have sterling records of distinguished career accomplishments, complemented by a history of outstanding contributions to the engineering profession.

Previous award winners include Ernst Volgenau, Josephine Cheng, Paul Baran, Armond Hairapetian,  Vint Cerf , Henry Samueli, Ronald D. Sugar, James L. Easton, Sam F. Iacobellis, Norman E. Friedmann, Myron Tribus and Ralph E. Crump, among many others.

"Aaron has been instrumental to the success of NTS since day one, and continues to provide us a unique blend of strategic vision, engineering expertise and organizational acumen," said William C. McGinnis, President and CEO of NTS. "Aaron has been invaluable to many of us here at NTS, in terms of mentoring, listening and offering sound advice and leadership. For me, it's been a privilege to work alongside Aaron for many years. It's wonderful to see him honored by UCLA with this award."

About National Technical Systems

National Technical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of testing and engineering services to the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, automotive and high technology markets. Through a world-wide network of resources, NTS provides full product life-cycle support, offering world class design engineering, compliance, testing, certification, quality registration and program management. For additional information about NTS, visit the Company's website at www.nts.com or call 800-270-2516.

Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to customer orders, demand for services and products, development of markets for the companies' services and products and other risks identified in the companies' SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding National Technical Systems' business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

SOURCE National Technical Systems, Inc.