Dr. Julie Lovell

Dr. Julie A. Lovell is a multidisciplinary leader and scientist with over two decades of experience in defense, research, and higher education. She holds two PhDs - Vision Science (University of the Incarnate Word) and Management & Decision Sciences (Walden University) - demonstrating a rare fusion of scientific and strategic expertise.

She currently serves as Deputy Director of the WP Werx Innovation Hub and Deputy Director of Integration for the Office of Research at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In these roles, she drives strategic partnerships, accelerates research and development initiatives, and fosters a culture of innovation across military and academic domains. Her federal career includes serving as Program Manager at the Human Effectiveness Directorate, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, where she led a multinational team to develop NATO standards for integrating laser dazzlers and supported the DoD training portfolio by integrating laser effects into virtual environments. She also provided critical support to NASA’s Artemis mission, offering technical guidance on modeling lunar lighting conditions.

A veteran of the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce, Dr. Lovell deployed to Afghanistan and Qatar in high-impact roles. In Afghanistan, she served as Contracting Officer Representative, advising the Ministry of Interior on forensic capability development, securing international grants, and helping implement a national forensic strategy. In Qatar, she led Task Force 2010 under USCENTCOM, facilitating interagency coordination to support Section 841 of the FY15 NDAA. These efforts earned her the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism and a Letter of Commendation from ISAF.

She has also led enterprise-level change as a Management Analyst at HQ Air Force Materiel Command, where she guided a $26B Agile Combat Support portfolio, and as Chief of Business Operations at the 711th Human Performance Wing. Earlier in her career, she served as an Acquisitions Officer and Research Psychologist with the U.S. Air Force.

In academia, Dr. Lovell has held adjunct faculty positions at Southern New Hampshire University, the University of the Incarnate Word, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She has taught courses in psychology, management, and vision science using a broad range of pedagogical approaches across online, hybrid, and in-person modalities.

Dr. Lovell served as a member of the NATO Science & Technology Organization and the DoD Human Factors Engineering Technical Advisory Group, where she has chaired multiple panels focused on directed energy, laser safety, and modeling and simulation. Her research has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals including Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics and Nature’s Eye, with a focus on color vision, neural plasticity, and human visual performance.