Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, 2018
  • M.S., Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, 2014
  • B.S., Creative Writing and Environmental Science, Oberlin College, 2012
Licenses & Certifications
  • 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER)
  • Certified Associate Professional Soil Scientist (APSS)
Professional Affiliations
  • Member, Soil Science Society of America
  • Mining Committee Vice Chair, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources

Dr. James is a soil scientist specializing in biogeochemistry, hydrology modeling, chemical fate and transport, and data analysis. His work explores the impacts of anthropogenic activities such as mining, oil spills, forest harvesting, and prescribed fire on ecological and groundwater resources. He is also a published expert on soil health and ecosystem carbon sequestration related to forest management, land-use change, and horticulture.

Dr. James' expertise is analyzing complex physical, chemical, biological, and hydrological phenomena, which intersect and interact in soils at global, individual watershed, and soil pore scales. His data analysis expertise includes multivariate statistics and machine learning techniques, as well as using US EPA-approved methods for establishing background threshold values and confidence limits for exposure point concentrations. Dr. James has consulted for government, utility, and industrial clients, focusing on remediating metals and hydrocarbon contamination from mines, smelters, and oil spills to minimize ecological and human health effects. His project and research experience includes:

  • Simulating organic and inorganic chemical fate and transport in saturated and unsaturated environments, including in coal ash impoundments with intersecting groundwater and in firefighting water from battery energy storage system (BESS) fires
  • Soil and groundwater sampling as part of remedial investigations on various types of contaminated sites
  • Ecosystem carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory accounting in the contexts of corporate climate change disclosures, voluntary carbon offset markets, and industrial supply chains
  • Lifecycle assessment (LCA) to quantify greenhouse gas, water use intensity, and human and ecological health impacts, including comparative analysis to identify the benefits of re-used and recycled goods
  • Developing interactive data visualizations and dashboards, such as for dose response relationships with ecotoxicological data and for coupled hydrological and geochemical models
  • Studying the fate and transport of metals released in fugitive dust and acid mine drainage from current and historical mining sites and smelters
  • Historical reconstruction of industrial activities, identification of contamination sources, and forensic chemistry at sites designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, a.k.a. Superfund)
  • Synthesizing scientific literature through meta-analysis and systematic reviews, particularly focusing on metals uptake by crops and the effects of land use change, natural resource management, and climate on global forest and agricultural soil resources.