Daniel Novak

Faculty Last Name

Novak

Faculty First Name

Daniel

Role at CSS

Professor of Science and Engineering

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CSS Email Address

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Staffmember Bio

 Mine has been a long and rewarding love affair with science and education. Becoming a scientist has been a convenient way to justify the pursuit of my natural curiosity of and love for life and the world around me. Being an educator gives me the opportunity to share this zest and excitement with my students, and to re-experience it every day through their exploration and our shared discoveries. I am a student also, like everyone, and am constantly challenging myself to think outside of the box, both in terms of science and pedagogy. By continually challenging myself I try to live the example of life-long learning and am proof that the brain and body respond to provocative ideas and stimuli with growth and plasticity.

In terms of my love and study of science and nature, it began when I was a child in my backyard and on short family excursions. I fondly (and clearly) remember my secret hiding places around my home (I too had a Briar Patch) and specific nature adventures with my family (they always seemed to involve getting lost in the woods and/or falling into a stream). I began a more focused study of the natural world while still in high school, where I applied to and attended the Dutchess Academy of Environmental Studies. There. I first learned how incredible it could be to start a course on the top of a mountain, show up to class everyday wearing waders and towing a seine around in the Hudson, and wrote my first grant towards science research.
My appetite whetted, I continued my studies and involvement with science by pursuing a BA in Environmental Studies and a BS in Biology from Providence College. During college I also began to get more actively involved in the research aspects of science, specifically those related to ecological systems and ecological health. As a researcher I was privileged to work both at the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) on such a wide range of research projects as the ecological impacts of invasive species as exacerbated by climate change to forest ecology and forest management for ecological health.
Paralleling my passion for science investigation was my passion for learning and sharing experiences. That passion was also expressed from a young age through my active involvement in teaching. The first steps were cool and interesting, serving as a summer camp counselor and tutor. But I began to see a great way to combine my interests, and by my senior year of high school I was helping teach the freshman biology course and created and lead a biology study group that typically met outdoors to improve our access to what we were learning about.
Unsurprisingly, after graduation from college and pursuing research exclusively for several years, I transitioned into the realm of science and environmental education by accepting a position as an Ecology Education Fellow at the same Institute (IES) where I was working as a research assistant. This experience served as a perfect combination of what I had grown to love, and it gave me access to continue my collaboration with scientists while I started learning more about and forming relationships with educators for miles around who were interested in IES and the programs we were able to design and offer them.
As a ecology educator, I was also privileged to work with children again. I was constantly surprised and inspired by the questions my students would ask and the wonder they would display when we’d interact and witness the world around us together. I became so enamored with these experiences, and specifically the novel and genuine reactions of the urban students immersing themselves in nature often for the first time, that I decided that I wanted to become a full-time educator dedicated to bringing similar experiences to as many students as possible. It was then that I applied to the NYC Teaching Fellows Program, was admitted, and took my first full-time public school teaching position at the Future Leaders Institute (FLI) in Harlem.
My transition into classroom teaching, with the specific focus of expanding the classroom beyond the school building much as possible, was rough at first. But, as time went on, and I began forming relationships with my students, my fellow teachers, and surrounding community members, I began to realize my dream of an expanded classroom. Before leaving FLI, I am proud to say that my students and I were able to participate in frequent park renovation and planting projects through partnerships with park managers, to design, help fund, plant and maintain a genuine rain garden on school property that became a retreat area for all classes and multiple schools, to build and participate in science fairs promoting independent thought and investigation, and to work diligently with Columbia University (CU) and partners to use the school as a pilot for environmental monitoring projects, green roof pilots, and undergraduate/middle school exchange.
Whether through serendipity or some other force, during one of my frequent visits to an engineering lab at Columbia where I was a community partner with several engineering groups, I ran into a staff member and some students from Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering. Intrigued and impressed, I exchanged contact information and quickly set up a time to visit the school with a cross-pollination objective. Needless to say, I got hooked. In exploring the school, meeting more staff and students, and learning more about the mission of the school, I decided to apply to become part of the incredible team there.
Being an educator at CSS has been one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life. I work with a team that is second to none and have been encouraged to pursue my natural goals as an educator while being afforded clear opportunity to do so. These pursuits have included independent coursework at CU in the Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Department, beginning my Ph.D. in science education at Teachers College at CU with a focus on value and moral development as related to expeditionary and immersive education, and tremendous opportunity to work with, learn from and lead our incredible faculty in developing as a professional. Through these and other experiences, I have also been privileged to collaborate with professionals in a huge variety of disciplines, from science to social action, education to environmental advocacy. These relationships enrich my education and experience, and that of my students.
I would also be doing an injustice if I did not also recognize the importance and influence of the students at CSS to my development as a educator. They, in their diversity, curiosity, insatiability, and individuality, provide more impetus than I could ever need to continue to my personal growth and expansion. Through being an educator I have truly become more educated. My students continue to surprise me in their dedication and openness to the learning process. As I have become more successful at pushing out the boundaries of the classroom, they have reminded me of how much can and needs to get done not only in the classroom, but in each individual. I have been motivated to refocus my attention also on deliberately leaving open space for student exploration, maturation, introspection and quiet contemplation wherever and whenever possible. A lover of the excitement of education, my students have reminded me that it’s also important to stop in order to move ahead, to reflect in order to learn.
My personal evolution as an educator and scientist is nowhere more apparent than in the course that I have been able to design and participate in with my students each June entitled Nature in the City. This wonderful and unique educational experience and opportunity for all involved brings together what I have always loved about science with what I have learned to treasure and value in education, being open to new experience learning. Major elements of this course, connectedness to nature, value and moral definition, environmental advocacy, immersive and real experience, professional appreciation and collaboration, serve as the cornerstones of my doctoral research and of what I try to bring to the daily experience of each of my students.   
In my personal life, I am also very happy and proud to say that I am a recent father (Hudson Kevin Novak), a happy husband, and the owner of 2 dogs. I also serve my country as a Major in the Army National Guard as the Deputy Commander of Administration for the RI Medical Detachment. I enjoy almost all outdoor sports and activities, time with my family, and any quiet reading and contemplative time I come to.