Contact Information
Champaign, IL 61820
Biography
As an atmospheric scientist, I study land/ocean-atmosphere interactions at a range of spatial scales (regional to local) that are relevant to the management of human and natural systems. My aim is to create a new generation of high-resolution climate models capable of resolving relatively small-scale processes and impacts in a sufficiently physically based way that they can be used for future climate predictions with increased confidence. I perform targeted dynamical downscaling experiments with the overarching goal of creating "bridges" between global, regional and micro-scale modeling.
Research Interests
- Regional climate modeling: Land/ocean/lake-atmosphere interactions, lake breeze, UHI effect, land data assimilation, hydrometeorological extremes
- Microscale modeling: Climate modeling at hyper-local scales (~m scales)
- Climate adaptation and mitigation: Interactions between urban ecology and urban heat island in a changing climate, green and cool roofs, energy consumption and savings with best practices
- Air quality modeling: meteorology and atmospheric chemistry feedbacks
Education
- Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, 2012
- M.S. Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, 2009
- B.Tech. Electronics and Communication Engineering, Jaypee University of Information Technology, 2007
Grants
- National Science Foundation (NSF): A Proposed Workshop on Interdisciplinary Sustainable Solutions for Urban Systems in a Changing Climate (Award no: 1929856); PI Donald Wuebbles, Ashish Sharma, Lei Zhao, and Amy Ando; duration: 05/01/2019 – 04/30/2020; $50,000
- DOE, DoD, NASA and NOAA: A Proposed Workshop on Urban Scale Processes and their Representation in High Spatial Resolution Earth System Models; PI Donald J. Wuebbles (UIUC), Katherine Calvin (PNNL), Charles Catlett (ANL), Beth Drewniak (ANL), Rao Kotamarthi (ANL), Ashish Sharma (UIUC): 10/01/2018 - 09/30/2019
- EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI): Cover crops prevent nutrient runoff and promote climate resiliency in Great Lakes watersheds (GL 00E02207); PI Alan Hamlet (ND), Ashish Sharma (UIUC), Jennifer Tank (ND), Sheila Christopher (ND), and Todd Royer (IU); duration: 08/01/2017 – 07/31/2020; $564,314
Awards and Honors
- Fellow, Royal Meteorological Society (2016-present)
- Executive Committee Member, Illinois Center for Urban Resilience and Environmental Sustainability (IL-CURES) (2019-present)
Highlighted Publications
Kristovich, D.A., Takle, E., Young, G.S. and Sharma, A., 2019. 100 years of progress in mesoscale planetary boundary layer meteorological research. American Meteorological Society 100-Year Anniversary Monograph. https://doi.org/10.1175/AMSMONOGRAPHS-D-18-0023.1.
Sharma, A., Hamlet, A.F., Fernando, H.J.S., Catlett, C.E., Horton, D.E., Kotamarthi, V.R., Kristovich, D.A.R., Packman, A.I., Tank, J.L. and Wuebbles, D.J., 2018. The Need for an Integrated Land‐Lake‐Atmosphere Modeling System, Exemplified by North America's Great Lakes Region. Earth's Future, 6(10), pp.1366-1379. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF000870.
Sharma, A., Woodruff, S., Budhathoki, M., Hamlet, A.F., Chen, F. and Fernando, H.J.S., 2018. Role of green roofs in reducing heat stress in vulnerable urban communities—A multidisciplinary approach. Environ. Res. Lett., 13(9), p.094011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aad93c.
Sharma, A., Fernando, H.J., Hamlet, A.F., Hellmann, J.J., Barlage, M. and Chen, F., 2017. Urban meteorological modeling using WRF: a sensitivity study. Int. J. Climatol. , 37(4), 1885–1900. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4819.
Sharma, A., Conry, P., Fernando, H.J.S., Hamlet, A.F., Hellmann, J.J. and Chen, F., 2016. Green and cool roofs to mitigate urban heat island effects in the Chicago metropolitan area: Evaluation with a regional climate model. Environ. Res. Lett., 11(6), 64004. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/6/064004.
Conry, P., Sharma, A., Potosnak, M.J., Leo, L.S., Bensman, E., Hellmann, J.J. and Fernando, H.J., 2015. Chicago’s heat island and climate change: Bridging the scales via dynamical downscaling. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 54(7), 1430–1448. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0241.1.