James D. Wells is professor of physics at the University of Michigan (USA). As theoretical physicist his research explores ideas designed to solve outstanding "origins" problems in fundamental physics: the origin of gauge symmetries, dark matter, flavor violations, CP violation, and mass.Professor Wells is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a recipient of an Outstanding Junior Investigator (OJI) Award from the U.S. Department of Energy, and a Sloan Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.