James is currently Special Advisor to the President, and previously served as Interim Chief Academic Officer of Quest.

He came to Quest after five years in the Princeton Writing Program, where he taught writing seminars on topics ranging from Darwinism to medieval magic. As an undergraduate at Columbia, his interest in history, math, and science sparked a passion for studying the history of science.

His research focuses on the history of medieval and early modern science, especially astronomy, cosmology and physics. He has written essays on a range of topics, including commentaries on medieval astronomical manuscripts and medieval ideas about the physics of angels. James is currently working on a book on the teaching and practice of astronomy at medieval universities. His broader intellectual interests include the relationship between science and religion, ancient and medieval literature and philosophy, theories of evolution, and the history of apocalyptic thought.

Outside of work James enjoys skiing, biking, reading trashy science fiction novels, cooking, and playing, watching and arguing about sports.