Professor Sharma served as associate vice president for global strategies and international affairs. Also, he served as Chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior to this, he served on the faculty of Louisiana State University (LSU) and Iowa State University. At LSU, he was Roy Paul Daniels Distinguished Professor. He is internationally recognized for his research and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. He received Telford Medal, top award, from the Institute of Civil Engineers in London. He has published numerous papers in international journals and conferences. He serves on national and international committees and delivered several keynote and invited lectures worldwide. Dr. Sharma studied at the University of Oxford for his doctorate.

Dr. Sharma serves as Co-Director for the NSF BRAIN IUCRC prospective site at West Virginia University. His role involves developing partnerships with industry, synergistic partnership for BRAIN IUCRC with WVU Health Science including Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, promote collaboration with engineering faculty from all relevant departments, and education along with technology aspects such XR.