Jim's distinguished scientific career started in California, where he received his Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Santa Cruz. His postdoc took him to Munich, Germany, where he ended up spending 14 years mastering fluorescent techniques, including the labeling of RNA and proteins. After returning to UC Santa Cruz to work with Harry Noller, his career took what he always described as a serendipitous turn, when he accepted a position at Applied Biosystems to start up their diagnostics and forensics programs. At ABI he made foundational contributions to the development of genetic profiling technologies and methodologies, and trained forensics scientists all over the world in the use of emerging DNA technologies for human identification. Jim joined the FBI Laboratory in July 1996, where he played a pivotal role in the establishment of molecular techniques for a wide range of forensic applications, always embracing the latest technologies and approaches. The advent of NGS brought him to the 7th Sequencing, Finishing, Analysis in the Future meeting in 2012.

Those of us fortunate to have crossed paths with Jim will always remember him for his curiosity, thoughtfulness, and humility. Both the eternal student and natural teacher, he embodied Lochard's Exchange Principle in his interactions with others; bringing something to every touch point, and taking something away from it.

 As we celebrate Memorial Day 2026, we pay homage to Jim Robertson and other past and present heros of genomic science and technology.  We stand on the shoulders of giants and will do justice to your vision through a continued pursuit of excellence.