Robert John Novak passed away at the age of 75 on August 4, 2022, in Tampa, FL. He leaves behind his lovely and dedicated wife, Loraine J. (Krane), daughter Karen S. Novak and her fiancé, Aaron M. Smithers, his eldest daughter Lisa J. (Novak) Woof and grandson, Matthew J. Woof of the UK, and his sister Marcia (Novak) and her husband David Hammel. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Alice (Lukanic) Novak including both sets of his grandparents. Robert was an outstanding, world-renowned Medical Entomologist. He was very precise with his research and had passed his love, his perfection and quality of research work and expectations of himself onto his students. He belonged to numerous Professional Entomological Organizations contributing to the advancement of the Scientific Study of Insects. He appeared on the television show 20/20 and on the Today Show when he was President of the American Mosquito Control Association for two terms; he published over 1000+ research papers on mosquito colony rearing, maintaining the colony and utilizing various experimental methods to control and eradicate mosquito diseases, such as: Encephalitis (Illinois/Missouri), Dengue (Center for Disease Control and Prevention/Puerto Rico & Caribbean Islands), West Nile Virus (Illinois/Midwest USA), Malaria (Africa: Kenya, Eretria, Ethiopia, Togo, Johannesburg, etc.) including China's Wuhan Lab and Cambodia. Invited as Guest speaker at various conferences in Asia, South America, and Europe, with funding from National Institute of Health, World Health Organization, as well as other research funded sources. He did his post-Doctoral work at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and then moved on to Atlanta, Georgia to work at CDC and then in Puerto Rico. He also served as a consultant and advisor for numerous national and international organizations including: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Illinois Governor’s Office and Pollution Control Board, Vector Control Division of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Health, the Ministry of Health of U.S. Virgin Islands, the United States Agency for International Development in Honduras, the U.S. Army Medical Virology Institute in Fort Detrick, Maryland, the Pan American Health Organization Aedes aegypti Biology and Control, and the Pueblo Board of Water Works in Colorado. Along the way he has touched and saved many lives from those he taught and those he learned from. The Scientific world will very much be on its own without him.
Viewing will be held Wednesday August 24, 2022 from 3-7pm at T.G.McCarthy Funeral Home. Service will be Thursday August 25, 2022 at 2pm at St. Mary's.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.8.18