Dr. James Petersen has served in a variety of research leadership capacities, including as WSU’s Vice Provost for Research, and as the Interim Executive Director of the Inland Northwest Research Alliance. In 2008, he returned from central administration to his academic roots, articulated a vision for the School, and worked with an alumnus to secure the largest donation from an individual in WSU’s history. While serving as Vice Provost for Research, the institution’s principal research officer, he oversaw significant growth in the institution’s sponsored research activities, while also enhancing responsible conduct of research and enhancing collaborations with other research institutions. While a faculty member, he served as the PI for WSU’s first Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) grant, which was responsible for educating some 40 science and engineering PhD students, nearly 200 undergraduate researchers, and several high school teachers. His research, which has been funded by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and other organizations, has focused on the kinetics of biologically mediated, environmentally significant chemical reactions, the design of in situ bioremediation systems, and the design of transformational energy processing systems. His work has always been collaborative in nature, and he has concentrated on developing such collaborations and on the education of graduate students associated with his research.