Prof. Stokes completed undergraduate studies in engineering in Cambridge in 1971, and a Biomechanics PhD at the Polytechnic of Central London in 1975. He is currently Research Professor Emeritus at the Dept. of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation of the University of Vermont in Burlington. His research interests include lumbar spine muscle function, and spinal deformity and growth plate biomechanics, with an emphasis on using modeling and simulation.