Rate My Professor Bruce Novak

Bruce M. Novak holds the Francis S. and Maurine G. Johnson Chair and serves as Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he has been a faculty member since 2011. During his tenure at UT Dallas, he also served as Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics from 2011 to 2019, leading significant expansions in faculty hires, research capabilities, and teaching programs across disciplines including chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and geosciences. Prior to joining UT Dallas, Novak was a Distinguished University Professor and head of the Department of Chemistry at North Carolina State University from 1998 to 2011, where he was repeatedly selected as a most-loved professor. His earlier career included a faculty position in the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, beginning in 1993, and starting his academic teaching career at the University of California, Berkeley. Novak earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1989, a Master of Science in Chemistry from California State University, Northridge in 1985, and a Bachelor of Science summa cum laude from the same university in 1983. Before entering academia, he completed a five-year enlistment in the U.S. Army.

Novak's research program focuses on polymer chemistry, encompassing materials chemistry, macromolecular chirality, optical switches, molecular machines, and the synthesis, characterization, and self-assembly of polycarbodiimide systems and helical polymers. His key publications include "Rigid, Helical Arm Stars through Living Nickel Polymerization of Carbodiimides" (2017), "Stereocomplexation of Helical Polycarbodiimides Synthesized from Achiral Monomers Bearing Isopropyl Pendants" (2017), "Developments in Synthesis, Characterization, and Self-Assembly of Polycarbodiimide Systems" (2017), "Self-Assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives" (2017), "Solid State Sensing of Nonpolar VOCs Using the Bistable Expansion and Contraction of Helical Polycarbodiimides" (2017), "Self-assembly Studies on Triazolepolycarbodiimide-g-polystyrene Copolymers" (2016), "Plasticization for Melt Viscosity Reduction of Melt Processable Carbon Fiber Precursor" (2016), "Synthesis and Characterization of Partially Fluorinated Polybenzoxazine Resins Utilizing Octafluorocyclopentene as a Versatile Building Block" (2015), and "Controlled Living Polymerization of Carbodiimides Using a Nickel(II) Alkyl Complex" (2014). Novak has received prestigious awards including the American Chemical Society Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award, the 1991 Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Young Investigator Award, and the 1991 National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award. Teaching remains a central passion, with Novak priding himself on making complex subjects accessible and engaging for students.