Dr. George Novotnak
Name, Company, and Position:
George Novotnak
Chemical Engineer at Armtec Defense Technologies
How would you describe your company in a short summary?
Armtec is the producer of the largest and most varied line of combustible ordnance and countermeasures products in in the world. We are dedicated to serving the expendable countermeasure and combustible ordnance needs of customers worldwide. We develop and manufacture state-of-the-art ordnance products, infrared radar decoy flares, radar countermeasures, chaff and a variety of the pyrotechnic devices.
Armtec is the producer of the largest and most varied line of combustible ordnance expendable countermeasures and combustible ordnance need of customers worldwide. Decoy infrared countermeasures chaff and a varied of pyrotechnic devices Combustible ordnance producer are manufactured at our Coachella, California facility which is also the location of our executive offices.Expendable countermeasures are manufactured at our flare facilities in East Camden, Arkansas, our chaff facility in Lillington, North Carolina and at our Coachella, California location.
What were your central research questions or research interests when working with ICAL?
Our research interests with ICAL were to assist in formulation development and improve the understanding of our products. This could only be accomplished with specialized analytical instrumentation. ICAL was able to supply us with the needed instrumentation. We were able to use such instruments as XRD, XRF and their latest software which were capable of identifying the chemical components. ICAL also contributed with a knowledgeable team of professors to assist with the analysis.
Tank firing a missile. Photo from Armtec Defense
Car being blown up through missile firing demonstration. Photo by Armtec Defense.
What is your academic background, and what professional development prepared you to do this research (i.e., what advice to young scientists who might be interested in pursuing this research as a career opportunity?)
My academic background after High School was to work and complete a Bachelors Science (BS) Degree in Chemistry and Engineering at Penn State University. This was followed up with studies at The Ohio State University to receive my doctorate degree (Ph.D.). My professional development covered research in a variety of sciences, including chemistry, engineering, pharmaceutical, environmental, pilot plant process development, analytical and statistical analysis.
Science is a great career choice for young scientists. Science is a field full of knowledge, data and interesting discoveries. Science offers a chance to make new discoveries. The population of the world is continually increasing and there remains many new challenges of our food supply, environmental issues, energy problems, medicines and ways to conserve our natural resources.
What are some of the key research findings, and what is their significance and application?
ICAL has opened the door to understanding our processes and products in much great detail and depth. The services provided gave us information that helped to solve our scale-up problems, streamline our research efforts and improved our products.
What is the funding source for this research?
Armtec Defense Technologies