Robert Phillip Sharp (24 June 1911 – 25 May 2004) was an American

geomorphologist Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

and expert on the geological surfaces of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. Sharp served as the chairman of the Division of Geological Sciences at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) from 1952 to 1968. He built the modern department and especially recruited new faculty in

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

, tectonic geomorphology,

planetary science Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their f ...

, and field geology.

Biography

Sharp specialized in

geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

and published heavily in glacial terrain (the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, Blue Glacier in the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

, and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

terrain, and the

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

-East

Humboldt Range The Humboldt Range is a largely north-south running range of mountains in northwest Nevada, USA, that extend from the town of Imlay in the north to the junction with the West Humboldt Range in the south. It is bordered continuously by Interst ...

in north-central

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Sharp retired in 1979 but continued leading geological field trips afterwards (with emphasis on the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

geology using rubber rafts).

Biography and education

Sharp was a native son of Oxnard, California. He attended Caltech as an undergraduate, beginning in 1930, earning a bachelor's degree (1934) in geology, and master's degree (1935) in geology. While at Caltech, he was quarterback on the football team. He received a doctorate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for a doctorate (1938) in geology under Professor Kirk Bryan.

Career

Sharp served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during World War II as an analyst in the Arctic, Desert and Tropical Information Center and achieved the rank of captain. During World War II, Sharp performed extensive field work in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

of the Alaskan Peninsula, simultaneously testing new

arctic clothing Extreme cold weather clothing refers to clothing for arctic or mountainous areas. Its primary function is to trap air as an insulator to prevent heat loss from the wearer's body. Secondary and necessary is to conduct water vapor away from the body ...

for

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s, and quietly performing geological mapping of several islands, which he published in the '' Bulletin of the Geological Society of America''. Sharp was briefly an instructor in geology at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

before World War II, and briefly an Assistant Professor of Geology at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

immediately after the war. As soon as possible, Caltech's Division Chairman Ian Campbell arranged for Sharp to return home to Caltech as a full professor in 1947. Sharp remained at Caltech for the next half-century, and was quickly promoted to the Chairman of the Division of Geological Sciences, later renamed to the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. At Caltech, Sharp mentored dozens of doctoral students in field

; these are now working at the United States Geological Survey facility in Menlo Park, California and in leading geology departments throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Research

Sharp became a published expert on the glacial geomorphology of the Sierra Nevada range, the Trinity Alps of northwestern California, the

of Washington, and Mount Saint Elias in the

Fairweather Range The Fairweather Range is the unofficial name for a mountain range located in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the southernmost range of the Saint Elias Mountains. The northernmost section of the range is ...

of Alaska. In the winter season, he focused his geological field work in the Mojave Desert of California, with emphasis on the geomorphology of

Cima Dome Cima volcanic field is a volcanic field in San Bernardino County, California, close to the border with Nevada. The volcanic field covers a surface area of within the Mojave National Preserve west of the Cima Dome and consists of about 40 volcan ...

, and the sliding stones on the

Racetrack Playa The Racetrack Playa, or The Racetrack, is a scenic dry lake feature with " sailing stones" that inscribe linear "racetrack" imprints. It is located above the northwestern side of Death Valley, in Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, Califor ...

in northern

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

. He was an expert on the physics of blown sand and the formation of

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

in the Mojave Desert and the

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacint ...

. He was awarded the Kirk Bryan Award by the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

for his work on the geomorphology of sand dunes in desert terrain. Sharp loved weekend field trips, and so he authored a number of field books in geology of

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, published by Mountain Press. While in his sixties, Sharp continued to teach field geology to Caltech geology students during summer classes at Henry Mountain in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, where

Grove Karl Gilbert Grove Karl Gilbert (May 6, 1843 – May 1, 1918), known by the abbreviated name G. K. Gilbert in academic literature, was an American geologist. Biography Gilbert was born in Rochester, New York and graduated from the University of Rochester. D ...

discovered laccoliths. After retiring from Caltech, Sharp and his wife Jean moved their home from

Altadena Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

to Santa Barbara. They had two children.

Awards and honors

* Robert Sharp was a member of the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

and received the National Medal of Science in 1989. *He won the Penrose Medal from the

, its highest honor. *Sharp was honored by Caltech as the first named professorship in geology: the Robert Phillip Sharp Chair in Geology. *The Hungaria asteroid

5426 Sharp 5426 Sharp, provisional designation , is a bright Hungaria asteroid and suspected binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2–3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 16 February 1985, by American astronomer ...

, discovered by Carolyn Shoemaker at

Palomar Observatory Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...

in 1985, was named in his honor. Naming citation was published on 17 March 1995 (). * On March 28, 2012,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

named a mountain "Mount Sharp" on the planet

, in his honor. The mountain is located at the center of Gale crater, where in August of the same year the Mars rover ''

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...

'' successfully landed. However, on May 16, 2012, Mount Sharp had officially been renamed " Aeolis Mons" by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

, while a neighboring crater was instead named after the scientist.

References

External links

Robert P. Sharp - Biography/California Institute of Technology

Clarence R. Allen, "Robert Phillip Sharp", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2010)

Robert P. Sharp - Oral History/Caltech
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Robert P. 1911 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American geologists Planetary scientists California Institute of Technology people People from Oxnard, California People from Pasadena, California National Medal of Science laureates Harvard University alumni Penrose Medal winners Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences