Dr E. J. James is a member of the Governing Body of Wetlands International South Asia.
He is presently the Professor Emeritus and Director, Research and Consultancy at the Karunya University, (Coimbatore), Tamil Nadu.
Dr James is a renowned wetland hydrologist. He graduated in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (erstwhile KREC) and also obtained his M. Tech. in Coastal Engineering from the same Institute. He did his Ph.D from Calcutta University and carried out his post-doctoral work at the Institute of Hydrology, Wallingford, UK. Thereafter, he worked as Scientist for 30 years in the Center for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) at Calicut, retiring as Scientist-G and Executive Director of CWRDM and the Director of Irrigation Management Training Institute of Kerala.
Since 2008, he has been working in the Karunya University, Coimbatore in different capacities, as Director, Water Institute; Director, School of Civil Engineering; Director, Interdisciplinary Research; Dean, Research; Dean, School of Agriculture and Biosciences, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. Presently, he is Professor Emeritus and Director, Research and Consultancy (Hon.) at the Karunya University.
Dr James has carried out more than 80 funded research projects for national and international agencies and has more than 150 publications to his credit. He has served as Consultant to several agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, JICA, and India-Canada Environmental Facility. He has been the Chairman of the Research Council of CWRDM and also served as the Chairman of the Steering Committee for the publication of National Wetland Atlas of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Space Application Center. He was formerly a Member of the Working Group on Tidal Waters of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage and also Member of the Central Wetland Regulatory Authority of Government of India. He is currently a Member of the Central Water Commission’s Research Committee on Surface Water. He has also served in several Commissions and Committees constituted by the High Court and Supreme Court of India.
Dr James is the recipient of Hemaprabha Award of the Institution of Engineers (I) and several Certificates of Merit. Recently, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University conferred on him the Award of Distinguished Scientist.