James was raised in the Harris County and Columbus area of Georgia. He attended the University of West Georgia and graduated with a BS in Chemistry. While at UWG, he worked with Dr. Spencer Slattery investigating the electronic and steric effects of a single substituent on the redox and spin state behavior of iron (II) bis-terpyridine complexes. With a love for coordination chemistry synthesis and spectroscopy, James moved to the considerably colder Madison and found his home as a joint student in the Berry and Wright labs near the end of 2021.In his somewhat rare spare time, James enjoys going for walks, exploring his new home state, spending quality time with friends, and drinking hot chocolate in a desperate search for warmth.