He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Columbia University in 2006, and performed undergraduate research with Prof. Ged Parkin. He earned his Ph.D. in 2012 from the California Institute of Technology, where he worked with Prof. John Bercaw on olefin polymerization catalysis and early transition metal-ligand multiply bonded complexes. After postdoctoral research with Prof. Clark Landis at the University of Wisconsin  Madison, he began his independent career at the University of Minnesota in 2013. His current research interests are focused on the development of earth abundant, sustainable catalytic methods using early transition metals. Prof. Tonks work in this area has recently been recognized with an Outstanding New Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health, the 2017 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the 2018 University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professorship.