James Brewster Adams is President's Professor in the School of Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE) and the undergraduate program chair for materials science and engineering in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Professor Adams has done extensive research in developing computational models of materials and applying those models to the study of properties of materials. James Adams is a father of 3 children, including an adult daughter with autism, and that is what led him to shift much of his research emphasis to autism, focusing on biological causes and treatments. 

Professor Adams directs the Autism/Asperger's Research Program at Arizona State University with focus on biomedical issues, including nutritional deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity and bacterial/yeast overgrowths in the gut.

Professor Adams is President of the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix, President of the Autism Nutrition Research Center, Chair of the Science Advisory Board of the Neurological Health Foundation.