Jim Gawel is Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering in the School of
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (SIAS) at the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT),
where he has been teaching and doing research at the Primarily Undergraduate Institution for 24
years. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Brown University and a Ph.D. in
Environmental Chemistry and Engineering from MIT. The overall theme of Dr. Gawel’s
scholarship is examining the role of human and natural disturbance forces on natural systems,
and the resulting implications for ecosystem and human health, with applications aimed at
resource management and mitigation. Within this larger theme, he has multiple research areas:
(1) the physical and biogeochemical factors that affect arsenic bioavailability in aquatic systems;
(2) the impact of metal pollutants on forest health; (3) nutrient cycling, invasive species
dynamics, and ecological change in lakes; and (4) water resource management to address
anthropogenic degradation. He has shaped his scholarship around UW Tacoma’s urban serving
and community engaged mission, reaching a broader audience through applied research, student
and community involvement, and disseminating results through alternative venues, such as
technical reports for the state, counties, and local communities, that have a greater impact on the citizens and policy makers not likely to read academic journals. He has been recognized for his work with the UWT Distinguished Community Engagement Award and the UW Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, and he has been nominated for the UWT Distinguished Research Award and multiple times for the UWT Distinguished Teaching Award.
James Gawel, Associate Professor, University of Washington Tacoma, jimgawel@uw.edu,
(253) 692-5815; Professional webpage: https://directory.tacoma.uw.edu/employee/jimgawel