James Harper, PhD, PE

As a civil engineering researcher, James works to achieve impactful outcomes in international development using evidence-based research. His research focuses on how poor rural households make decisions about their basic needs, and evaluating how impactful international development programs have been in relation to their goals. James has worked primarily on infrastructure development projects in sanitation, water, housing, electricity, nutrition, and menstrual health in rural India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Ghana.

As a professor of engineering design, James works to enable the next generation of engineers to design products and services using a holistic and human-centered perspective, focusing on the goal of improving people's lives. Designing with users in mind and striving to delight them makes design more successful and produces more positive impacts.

Outside of work, James volunteers as a firefighter in the mountains above Boulder and enjoys cooking, hiking, and travelling with his wife and two sons.