Field Selected as 2022 da Vinci Fellow

In his role as CHEE professor, Jim Field balances improving the environment with helping his students build successful futures. His work, which includes researching the biodegradation of explosive compounds and co-leading the Field-Sierra Research Group, recently earned him a prestigious spot among engineering faculty. 

Each year, the College of Engineering selects one exceptional engineering faculty member as a recipient of the da Vinci Fellowship. The Fellowship includes a one-time grant of $10,000 made possible by donors to the college's da Vinci Circle.

“I have had the opportunity to work with Jim for more than 20 years,” said CHEE department chair Kim Ogden. “He is an established scholar in the field of bioremediation with over 290 peer-reviewed publications in high impact journals, and he is truly committed to ensuring the success of his students and the next generation of engineers.”

Field’s peer-reviewed scientific articles have been collectively cited nearly 22,000 times.

“This [College of Engineering] is my work environment. These are my peers. It’s personal. So, that’s why, for me, the da Vinci Circle is a really important honor,” said Field, who also serves as the associate dean of graduate education for the college.

Field earned his BS and MS in environmental science from Virginia Tech before completing a PhD in environmental technology from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. He completed a postdoc at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and taught for nine years at Wageningen University before joining the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the UA.

Field joins fellow CHEE faculty Ogden (2014) and Armin Sorooshian (2018) as recipients of the honor.