Why Jon-Edward Stokes Looks Up to Einstein (Literally) and Plans To Build a Career That Blends Science and Service

Why do you think you’re so driven to solve big, social problems?

My mom was in social work. And my dad worked as the vice president of fundraising affairs and similar positions at various historically Black colleges and universities. So, from a young age, I had the mindset that I wanted to help people out. That’s just how I was raised.

But you didn’t go into social work, like your mom. What drew you to science?

When I was in elementary school, a woman who worked in our cafeteria ran a recycling and composting program. My family would go every Saturday morning to recycle. And that's when I learned about things like climate change, the waste that people produce, and—well, now I know the term for it—circularity, using sustainable methods to preserve the Earth. 

And then I got really interested in Albert Einstein and astrophysics and cosmology.

Why Einstein?

I learned about guys like Einstein and Stephen Hawking, who were working on stuff like black holes and cosmology. I didn't learn until later how much [Einstein] was doing in terms of social justice and science. He went to Lincoln University to help increase the representation of different races in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)—specifically Black people. It makes sense because he was a Jewish scientist in Germany during World War II. He’s still a pretty big inspiration to me.

Was it Einstein who inspired you to major in physics in college?

I wasn’t sure what I was going to major in in college. But once I hit senior year of high school, I did a summer internship at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab, which is about an hour and a half out from where I live, and got into particle physics. That was a huge factor in deciding my major. Physics is still very near and dear to my heart, but I also wanted to be able to do things related to the environment. So, I decided to do renewable energy. And in Chicago, which I consider my home, I got a very good sense of social justice. I’m trying to combine all that into one career path. 

How can you blend all three of those passions—physics, environmental science, and social justice—in one career? 

I decided to go with material science. AMMTO has a very large focus on batteries, and that was where I became intrigued by using materials that are more environmentally friendly and abundant than the traditional lithium, cobalt, and nickel. 

Batteries work fine, yes, but we need to learn from the past. In the industrial revolution, they used a lot of coal and oil, and look where we are now. Lead acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries both have toxic materials, and there are human rights issues associated with the mining of materials used to create these batteries, especially lithium-ion battery cathode materials.

Did you always know that you would end up in STEM? 

Actually, no. At one point, I thought I was going to major in English, because that was my best subject in high school, and possibly do music on the side. I still play bass and sometimes drums and piano. I’ve been doing a lot of gospel music lately, playing at church. I also play folksy R&B and pop music with groups outside of churches. I decided to pivot because I was more concerned with the inner workings of the universe.

I still write, and I love gathering meaning from things I read, including poetry books, like The Oxford Anthology of African American Poetry, Tupac’s poetry book, The Rose That Grew from Concrete, and One Show Marching Towards Heaven. And I really like Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Langston Hughes—poets from that era. Sometimes I just want inspiration.

So, in school, you’re studying the inner workings of the universe. But with poetry, you’re kind of studying the inner workings of humans. 

Yeah—the best of both worlds. Right now though, I’m reading Stephon Alexander’s book, The Jazz of Physics. He talks a lot about how music is related to things like math and science.

What led you to AMMTO? 

As a GEM fellow, you apply to graduate school, but you also look for companies or, in this case, government agencies to sponsor you. I applied to the U.S. Department of Energy because I saw they have an Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and renewable energy is the main thing I wanted to do. The GEM program put me in AMMTO because I mentioned that I wanted to do material science, and I had experience working with batteries. I also indicated that I wanted to do some policy work.

What interested you about policy? 

I'll be able to do all this research, but if I also look at policy, I may be able to influence how the science is used. Politicians don’t always have the requisite knowledge to make decisions that can actually benefit the people. More people should go the political science or policy route if they’re concerned about how science is being used.

What have you gotten out of the GEM Fellowship so far? 

I’ve learned a lot about how the government chooses who to fund and why, like how it often comes down to the effectiveness of a company’s business idea or model and how well they fit the funding agency’s portfolio. I’ve been able to ask people about different technologies, problems, and solutions. Like, “What happens when we start running out of lithium?” Or, “How do we improve the circularity of batteries in general?” It has given me a really good perspective on what it takes to successfully design and manufacture batteries.

In an ideal world, what would you most hope to accomplish? 

I would hope to establish myself as a leading expert and voice in the field of lithium-ion battery alternatives and in grid energy production and storage. And I would want this to be a worldwide effort and travel to places like Costa Rica, which already has a good renewable energy focus. I hope to be able to eventually go into policy. But hopefully, I can just make whatever impact I can—like developing a better recycling program for the United States—and still make music on the side, like Stephon Alexander.

You’ve also done a lot of community service work, right?

In Washington, D.C., and especially here in Chicago, I’ve done service days at food pantries. It reinforced that what I do should be for the community. There’s a certain peace of mind in knowing that what you’re doing is going to help somebody. It’s grounding yourself in purpose.

At Howard University, my undergraduate institution, I also took a service trip to Richmond, Virginia, which was a good reminder that there’s still so much talent out there that needs to be scouted. I talked to kids about what I want to do and saw some of their faces—it was like they had never heard about a Ph.D. or getting paid to go to school before. There are a lot of kids who don’t know they have the option to be a scientist. They don’t know what that looks like. And I feel like it’s my job to show them.

What advice do you have for those kids who might want to pursue a career in STEM?

You don’t have to have it all figured out, but figure out which type of science interests you most. Be open minded and try out different things. I hate to be that guy, but study hard, do well in school, and always be curious.

All the greatest minds had their hands in different disciplines. Think about Pythagoras. Yeah, he was a mathematician, but he was also a huge music guy. Albert Einstein was one of the most influential physicists of all time, but he was also a musician. So, be open to gathering inspiration from more than one source. That's one of the key things that separates your run-of-the-mill scientists from a Stephen Hawking.