James has been always drawn to the mystery and grandeur of the universe.

He received his PhD in Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin in 1997, and had subsequent postdoctoral fellowship appointments at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of California, Berkeley.

James joined the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre in 2002 and is presently its Director of Optical Astronomy and the Director of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Victoria.