A leader in America's space research efforts will be a distinguished visiting professor at Southern Utah University for the coming academic year.
Dr. Joseph C. Sharp, director of space research at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., will join SUU's science faculty beginning fall quarter."Dr. Sharp will add a new dimension to our astronomy program and to our human physiology offerings," Terry Alger, provost of the university, said. "One of the major focuses of NASA research deals with the various aspects of human performance."
In addition to teaching courses in biology, human physiology and related courses, Sharp will conduct seminar courses with upper division students, according to Al Tait, dean of the College of Science.
"He is interested in working in more individualized study with advanced students, and he will be involved considerably with our astronomy offerings," Tait said.
As director of space research at the NASA facility, Sharp is responsible for the management of all space activity at the Ames Research Center, including the physical and life sciences, engineering and flight projects, grants to university scientists and contracts to aerospace industry.
At Ames, he supervises a total annual budget of $108 million and approximately 1,000 on-site employees.
Of NASA's nine space centers, Ames has a reputation for working most closely with the nation's scientific community to produce scientific returns of international significance, according to Alger.
Sharp has led research on the "Nuclear Winter" scenario, the chemistry of ozone depletion, women in space,, overtly searching for life on Mars, and directing cooperative space flights with the former Soviet Union, France and China.
In 1987, Sharp was the senior representative of the United States to the British National Space Center, the British equivalent of NASA. As the American representative, he advised the director general on organizational structure and the melding of the British universities into a viable partner with the space center.