Episode 20, Segment 1 of 2 - LtCol. Joe Novak – The Million Dollar Man

Trident Room Host Jesus Moreno sits down and gets to know NPS graduate and creator of The Trident Room Podcast Series – LtCol Joe Novak. They discuss Joe’s multi-talented career path and what molded him to be the man he is today.

This episode was recorded on July 26, 2021.

Lt. Col. Joe Novak was a student in the Operations Research Department specializing in Human Systems Integration (HSI). Lt. Col. Novak began his military career with a sense of service and duty, thanks to his father who left communist Czechoslovakia and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam years. Joe joined Air Force ROTC and became an F-15C pilot. He then attended medical school and became an emergency medicine physician. He flew Critical Care Air Transport missions between Afghanistan, Germany and the United States transporting critically wounded service members in what he describes as "the most important thing" he's ever done. Lt. Col. Novak came to the Naval Postgraduate School following a five-year assignment as the flight doctor (and only) at a 12-nation international unit operating C-17s out of rural Hungary.

Lt. Col. Novak came to NPS for the Human Systems Integration program that he calls, "the best… and truly, the only one of its kind in the world." He is currently in his third quarter and hopes to focus his thesis on continuing the pioneering work of NPS MOVES PhD. student Lt. Col. Matt Taranto. That research looks at quantifying human behavior requirements for engineers to better develop systems using Dr. Taranto's Model-Based Human Systems Integration (MBHSI) construct- the first such development of its kind.

HSI is by nature interdisciplinary, so Lt. Col. Novak's studies allow him to interact with several departments, and it has been the variety of people and expertise at NPS that he has found most impactful. This has led to a side project to bring those exemplars of excellence to the greater community. Lt. Col. Novak is developing a podcast that will showcase members of the NPS community and dive deep to figure out what makes them tick, what challenges they’ve overcome, and what lessons they can teach all of us.

The palpable sense of mission at NPS has stood out to Lt. Col. Novak in his short time here. He has seen that students and faculty have an understanding that they are part of something larger than the academic environment. Both realize the importance of the work done at NPS to national security and frontline operators. Lt. Col. Novak hopes his future assignments will utilize the analytic skills and practical experience he has honed throughout his career while best fulfilling the needs of the Air Force.

Episodes Hosted (2020): Episode 9 July, Episode 8 July 16, Episode 4 June 30, Episode 3 June 30, Episode 2 June 23, Episode 1 May 8

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephdavidnovak/

NPS Profile: https://www.npsfoundation.org/joe-novak

The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation.

npsfoundation.org/

For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at [email protected], and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you!

The views expressed in this interview are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the US Navy, or the Naval Postgraduate School.