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Jim M. Thomson

Faculty Photo

Professor WOT
Civil & Environmental Engineering

Biography

Jim Thomson is a Principal Oceanographer at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Lab and an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Dr. Thomson studied Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering in MIT's joint program with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, receiving a PhD in 2006. Dr. Thomson studies waves and turbulence at the surface of the ocean surface, including interactions with sea ice. His work emphasizes field measurements and physical processes and includes the development of instrumentation and autonomous platforms. Applications for his work include remote sensing synthesis, model development, and naval operations.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography, MIT/WHOI, 2006
  • BA in Physics, Middlebury College, 2000

News

A course of action

Four faculty share how they have incorporated diversity, equity and inclusion content into their classes. The past few years, they’ve been busy updating existing courses and developing new classes from scratch.

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Making waves with Arctic research

Information about the role that waves play in the changing Arctic's coastline is rolling in after UW CEE researchers spent a month at sea collecting data, which they hope will improve the accuracy of climate models.

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Alaska research cruise explores Arctic

A UW research team including CEE faculty Jim Thomson and Nirnimesh Kumar departs aboard a research vessel from Alaska to study fall storms, dwindling sea ice and vulnerable coastlines in a changing Arctic.  

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Wave Glider explores Antarctic waters

Using an autonomous surfboard called the Wave Glider, UW researchers led by CEE faculty Jim Thomson are investigating the Antarctic Peninsula to better understand how the warming ocean interacts with ice shelves.

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