Stephen D. Roberson
In the latest installment of Journeys in Optics, OPN spoke with Stephen D. Roberson, a quality assurance engineer at Peraton, USA, and president of the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP). Roberson discussed his career trajectory, work for the US Department of Defense, and his passion for engaging Black students in STEM.
How did you first become interested in optical engineering and laser-based optical systems?
I first became interested in optics and lasers working with Joseph A. Johnson III during my time at Florida A&M University (FAMU), USA. His laboratory was a plasma physics lab, but the projects he put me on required lasers to generate the plasma and optical diagnostics to evaluate the state (temperature, composition, density and so on) of the plasma. The flexibility and creativity of what you could do with lasers and optics really appealed to me, and I have enjoyed that kind of work throughout my professional career.
Can you discuss your volunteer work engaging Black students in STEM?
Throughout my career, I have been very aware that there are not a lot of people that look like me doing the work that I do. From my childhood upbringing on the south side of Fort Worth, TX, USA, to my time at FAMU and my experience with the National Society of Black Physicists, I know that there are many people with my background that can do the work, but that may not necessarily get the same opportunities I had.
It is important to do the necessary work to shine a light on this untapped talent pool that result in more opportunities for my community. Whenever there is a chance to reach out to underrepresented groups at work, I volunteer.
It is also especially important to let talented people in my community know that there are opportunities to have a career like mine. That might mean teach courses at an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) or volunteer at a college fair or science fair geared toward underrepresented groups. It could be something as simple as reaching out to the local high school or church and ask if there is anything you could do to help.
I have been very aware that there are not a lot of people that look like me doing the work that I do.
The simple idea that someone who looks like me has a doctorate in physics might change someone’s idea of what is possible for their life. That happened to me, so it could happen to others.
How did you become involved with the National Society of Black Physicists, and what does serving as the president entail?
I became involved with the National Society of Black Physicists, also known as NSBP, as an undergraduate student in Professor Johnson’s lab at FAMU. He was one of the founders of the organization, and he took all of his students to their annual meetings. I have been involved with the organization for about 25 years now; first as a student, then as a professional, then as a board member and now as the president.
Being the president of NSBP means you serve as the public face and the voice of the organization. When there are questions asked about the organization from both internal and external entities, they expect you to answer intelligently. You must be prepared and well-versed on all kinds of things that concern NSBP, both internal to and external to the organization.
There are many stakeholders and many challenges that can be overwhelming. When making decisions, you must consider the status of the organization and set the direction of what the organization can be in the next few years after your tenure.
What is great is that I am not doing this work alone. Many of the people in leadership within the organization have stories comparable to mine concerning NSBP, and they have a similar desire to see the organization grow and succeed.
Can you tell us about your experience working for US military entities and government agencies?
Throughout my career working with the US Department of Defense, I have had contractor jobs working at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), with the US Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center, and at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) doing a variety of optics- and radar-related jobs. The common thread between all of these jobs was that the work was directly applicable to protecting the warfighter.
The immediate sense of purpose in my work is the greatest difference between academic or industry roles.
Most of the time, the intellectual ability needed to do to these jobs is comparable to that of someone who has a job in academia or in industry. However, the main motivation to do your job well is often standing in front of you in uniform. Many of the warfighters are young people who have their whole lives in front of them.
Throughout my career, I have had—and currently have—family in the armed forces. It is important to me that they and their fellow warfighters come home safely and intact. The immediate sense of purpose in my work is the greatest difference between academic or industry roles.
What excites you most about your work?
What I enjoy about my work is that it always requires me to learn something new. Most of the time, I am not working on the same project for years like many people do. I must learn something new at a deep level in a few months to work on a project that might last for a maximum of four years. Then that project is over, and I must learn something else—which may or may not be directly related to what I was doing before. Doing this repeatedly has given me a broad set of technical knowledge that enables me to do a wide variety of jobs.
Do you have any advice for students and early-career researchers?
My advice to students is to make sure they have a solid grasp on the basic topics they need to know to be scientist. The general physics and mathematics knowledge that all physics graduate students should have, the ability to program in multiple languages and understand other people’s code, the ability to do research and teach yourself how to do a job at an elevated level, the ability to communicate effectively orally and in written form—these are all important, universal skills. It is important to know what it takes to finish your dissertation, but it is entirely possible you will never use your dissertation after you complete it. But those universal skills needed to be a successful graduate student are marketable.
Early-career researchers need to make sure that they are building the network they may need one day, in addition to doing the work to grow their research program. It is easy to get involved in the work completely and build a bubble pertaining only to that work. Make a concerted effort to build your network because challenging times may be just one unexpected event away.
Growing your network can be as simple as helping people find papers or asking about someone else’s research. Participating in local science fairs or serving as a mentor to a young person are other organic ways to grow your network. Being an active part of a professional organization like NSBP or Optica is another way. Growing your network when you need people to do something for you is not particularly effective, so make sure to do the important task of networking all the time.
Can you discuss the Roberson School of Music and how it fits into your life and career journey?
It is important for me to do work that feeds my soul or is congruent with my purpose. When I am doing work that does not match my purpose, I feel out of balance.
The Roberson School of Music is the music school my wife and I opened over a decade ago in our living room. The school has won honorable mention for best music school in Howard County, MD three out of the last four years. My wife, Monica Roberson, has a doctorate of music in composition/theory and piano performance. She is the one that runs the school and puts everything together. I have learned a lot from her, and she would say the same about me.
On paper, I am the CEO and she is the director, but we are a team—and she is in charge. In practice, I do everything from program the website and take the videos and pictures from our recitals to take out the trash and help her clean the school. The only thing I do not do is teach the music lessons.
Understanding her commitment to excellence and attention to detail every day at the music school helps me to bring that same commitment to NSBP as president.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
I had to develop a mission statement that answers the question, “what am I here on this Earth to do?” That statement evolves, but the basic idea of it is constant. From that mission statement, I set priorities for life and live by them as closely as possible.
For me, God comes first, then family, then work, and then extracurricular activities like NSBP. When whatever I choose to do is out of order with my predetermined priorities, my life gets out of balance. It is important that my life activities line up with my established priorities because I have found that there are very few opportunities that are worth operating outside of my purpose or my priorities.
Additionally, it is important for me to do work that feeds my soul or is congruent with my purpose. When I am doing work that does not match my purpose, I feel out of balance.