James Cardle is from Brainerd, a small town in central Minnesota. He grew up in a rural area with emphasis on outdoor fun. He attended Catholic grade school in Brainerd and a boarding high school in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. James earned an undergraduate degree at Holy Cross in western Massachusetts, and a Ph D in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He did research (physical experiments and numerical modeling) at St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, created a computer program that was used in the design of many large storm sewer systems around the country, and did consulting work on the side. Dr. Cardle came to UNLV in August of 1985 and began teaching a class on wastewater treatment. He was one of a small group of professors who worked hard to prepare for ABET accreditation. James was a member of the curriculum committee, did research on the Yucca Mountain project, and also worked on setting up a master's program. He wrote a proposal for the Ph.D. program in civil engineering which ended up being approved. James left UNLV to pursue a law degree at University of Notre Dame. Today he works as a patent attorney in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In 2006, he began acting as intellectual property counsel to UNLV on a part-time basis, giving him an opportunity to come back to Las Vegas and the university a couple of times each year.