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
Awards and Honors
- Climate Leadership Award at the Annual Climate Leadership Conference hosted by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and The Climate Registry.
- Fellow, Royal Meteorological Society (2016-present)
- Executive Committee Member, Illinois Center for Urban Resilience and Environmental Sustainability (IL-CURES) (2019-present)
Additional Campus Affiliations
Assistant Research Scientist, Climatology, Illinois State Water Survey
Affiliate, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Recent Publications
Dimitrova, R., Sharma, A., Fernando, H. J. S., Gultepe, I., Danchovski, V., Wagh, S., Bardoel, S. L., & Wang, S. (2021). Simulations of Coastal Fog in the Canadian Atlantic with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 181(2-3), 443-472. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-021-00662-w
Fernando, H. J. S., Gultepe, I., Dorman, C., Pardyjak, E., Wang, Q., Hoch, S. W., Richter, D., Creegan, E., Gaberšek, S., Bullock, T., Hocut, C., Chang, R., Alappattu, D., Dimitrova, R., Flagg, D., Grachev, A., Krishnamurthy, R., Singh, D. K., Lozovatsky, I., ... Wauer, B. (2021). C-FOG life of coastal fog. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 102(2), E244-E272. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0070.1
Viecco, M., Jorquera, H., Sharma, A., Bustamante, W., Fernando, H. J. S., & Vera, S. (2021). Green roofs and green walls layouts for improved urban air quality by mitigating particulate matter. Building and Environment, 204, [108120]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108120
Kristovich, D. A. R., Takle, E. S., Young, G. S., & Sharma, A. (2020). 100 Years of Progress in Mesoscale Planetary Boundary Layer Meteorological Research. In The AMS Past, Present and Future: Linking Information to Knowledge to Society (LINKS). AMS.
Sharma, A., Wuebbles, D. J., Kotamarthi, R., Calvin, K., Drewniak, B., Catlett, C. E., & Jacob, R. (2020). Urban scale processes in high spatial resolution earth system models (ESMs). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(9), E1555–E1561. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0114.1
