Robert Phillip Sharp, 1911-2014 - a Biographical Memoir

One of the leading figures of American geology, Robert P. Sharp, died peacefully at age 92 in his home at Santa Barbara, California, on May 25, 2004. Sharp’s multitude of contributions on the physical processes that have modified the surface of Earth, as well as Mars, are true scientific classics. They have substantially enhanced our understanding of the unique roles of water, wind, and ice in modifying planetary surfaces. Virtually an equal contribution was Sharp’s leadership and vision in geological academia and his spawning of a generation of students who have become scientific leaders themselves