When the time came to apply to grad school, I really liked the research and the environment in my lab group, as well as being in Chicago.”
Jakob Reinke
PhD Candidate in Materials Science and Engineering
Jakob Reinke is a PhD candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering. His research focuses on finding better, cheaper materials that can make hydrogen-based energy systems more efficient, durable, and scalable. Jakob is a member of the Barnett Research Group and a founding member of the Northwestern Bridge Club.
How would you describe your research and/or work to a non-academic audience?
I work on the discovery of new materials for high-temperature hydrogen electrolysis and fuel cells, specifically focusing on improving the efficiency and lifetime of these devices while minimizing costs.
What have been some of the most memorable twists and turns of your career?
My first two papers started out as a "quick" two-month project for me as an undergraduate researcher, just confirming for my PhD student mentor that the material he was working with was stable under certain conditions. It then took the rest of my BS and the first three years of my PhD to determine why the material behaved completely differently from how we expected, and how we could stabilize it.
What do you find both rewarding and challenging about your research and/or work?
My experiments, due to focusing on degradation and lifetime improvements of devices designed to last 6+ years at high temperatures, generally take forever (often 20–40 days) and require daily attention. When my experiments are going well, I love the fact that I only need to think about any given experiment for ~30 minutes a day while the data collects itself. When they're not, though, it's incredibly challenging to work up the motivation to go into lab on a Sunday in late January just to press a couple buttons before having to go back into the snowy coldness.
Why Northwestern?
I chose to go to Northwestern for my undergrad because I didn't know what I wanted to do and wanted to be able to major in multiple disparate subjects (I ended up with a BA in History and a BS in Materials Science, so mission accomplished). When the time came to apply to grad school, I really liked the research and the environment in my lab group, as well as being in Chicago. As such, continuing on to a PhD here was not a difficult decision, and I'm happy that I did.
How do you unwind after a long day?
I bike to and from campus every day of the year, no matter the weather. Biking to and from Rogers Park along the lake is a sorely needed ~20-minute break from having to think about anything work-related and helps immensely to clear my mind.
What books are on your bedside table?
Currently on my bedside table are Be a Mensch: Holocaust Memoirs by Alexander B. White, MD, Gardens of the Moon by Steve Erikson, and The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman.
What did you originally want to be when you grew up?
I spent a lot of my summers in a house directly adjacent to train tracks, so there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a train conductor.
Tell us about a current achievement or something you're working on that excites you.
Together with a friend and fellow NU alumnus, Ben Fisk, I founded the Evanston Bridge Club, a not-for-profit organization that organizes regular competitive tournaments of the card game bridge. During COVID, the Northwestern Bridge Club shrank to two regular members (you need four to play bridge), but we managed to not only revive the club post-COVID, but engage enough community members to run ~25 tournaments per year with an average attendance of 24 players.
Publish Date: August 5, 2025
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