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.
[4] He built the modern department and especially recruited new faculty in geochemistry, tectonic geomorphology, planetary science, and field geology.
[5] Sharp served in the United States Army 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 of the Alaskan Peninsula, simultaneously testing new arctic clothing for soldiers, and quietly performing geological mapping of several islands, which he published in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America.
In the winter season, he focused his geological field work in the Mojave Desert of California, with emphasis on the geomorphology of Cima Dome, and the sliding stones on the Racetrack Playa in northern Death Valley.