Jim Martin is a Princeton PhD organic chemist who taught at prestigious Davidson College, his alma mater. During that time, he played principal tuba in the Charlotte Symphony and officiated high school football. Drawn to politics as a precinct worker, he was elected three times as county commissioner, six times to the U.S. Congress, and twice as Governor of North Carolina. After twenty-six years of public service, he returned to his scientific roots in private life to serve as vice president of medical research at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. He and his wife Dottie have three children and five grandchildren.