Robert P. Sharp

Robert Phillip Sharp (24 June 1911 – 25 May 2004) was an American geomorphologist and expert on the geological surfaces of the Earth and the planet Mars. 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, tectonic geomorphology, planetary science, and field geology.

Professor Sharp specialized in geomorphology and published heavily in glacial terrain (the Sierra Nevada, Blue Glacier in the Olympic Peninsula, and Alaska), Mojave Desert terrain, and the Ruby-East Humboldt Range in north-central Nevada. Sharp retired in 1979 but continued leading geological field trips afterwards (with emphasis on the Grand Canyon geology using rubber rafts).

Robert Sharp was a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and received the National Medal of Science from President George H. W. Bush in 1989. Professor Sharp won the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America, its highest honor. Sharp was honored by Caltech as the first named professorship in geology: the Robert Phillip Sharp Chair in Geology.