Thermal–Fluid Sciences

Dr. Kendra Sharp is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, currently on loan to the National Science Foundation where she is serving as the Office Head, Office of International Science and Engineering. Previously, at OSU, she was the Senior Adviser for Global Affairs, and Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development. She also founded OSU’s Humanitarian Engineering Program. She believes deeply in the value of interdisciplinary education and research, and using engineering and technology for positive social impact. She has extensive international research and teaching experience in the Netherlands, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Thailand. Her earlier research focused on experimental fluid mechanics, including microfluidics and biological applications thereof. She received the Edwin F. Church Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Visiting Erskine Fellowships at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand; the OSU College of Engineering Faculty Mentoring Award; OSU’s International Service Award; and an NSF CAREER award. Dr. Sharp is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She currently serves on the Alumni Board for the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Governing Board of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation, and previously served as a Trustee of WorldOregon.

Research Interests

Dr. Sharp's current research and teaching interests include design for international development, applications of technology in humanitarian engineering, sustainable water and energy systems (including small hydropower), and the ethics of university-community engagement.

Selected Publications

• Reynolds, N., MacCarty, N., Sharp, K.V. and Hartman, E. “Using the Fair Trade Learning Framework To Assess The Ethics Of Engagement In Engineering Global Service Learning: Applications And Implications For Program Design,” Advances in Engineering Education, v.10(1), 2022, Available at https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1335726
• Sharp, K.V., “Remaining Curious: Rethinking Contributions and Opportunities as Mechanical Engineers,” in Women in Mechanical Engineering: Energy and the Environment, Ed. by Bailey, M. and Shackelford, L., Springer, Cham, Switzerland, p. 121-134, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91546-9
• Burleson, G., Caplan, D., Mays, C., Moses, N., Navab-Daneshmand, T., Sharp, K., and MacCarty, N., “Computational Modeling and Empirical Analysis of a Biomass-powered Drinking Water Pasteurization Technology,” Energies, 13(4):936, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3390/en13040936
• Richardson, M.M., Sharp, K.V., “Community-Level Resource Development and Management, Part 1: A Transferable Approach to the Analysis of Community Water Distribution System Expansion,” Journal of Humanitarian Engineering, 7(1), 2019, doi: 10.36479/jhe.v7i1.133
• Burleson, G., Tilt, B., Sharp, K. and N. MacCarty, “Reinventing Boiling: A Rapid Ethnographic and Engineering Evaluation of a High Efficiency Thermal Water Treatment Technology in Uganda,” Energy Research in Social Science, 52:68-77, 2019.
• Warren, G., Mosier, T.M., Sharp, K.V. and Hill, D.F., "Small Hydropower Toolkit: Considerations for Improving Global Development and an Accompanying Case Study for Pakistan," Pittsburgh Law Review, 80, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3154085 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3154085
• Mosier, T., Hill, D.F., and K.V. Sharp, "The Hydropower Potential Assessment Tool (HPAT): Evaluation of Run-of-River Resource Potential for Any Global Land Area and Application to Falls Creek, Oregon, USA,” Renewable Energy, 97:492-503, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.06.002.
• Mohammadi, M. and K.V. Sharp, “The Role of Contact Line (Pinning) Forces on Bubble Blockage in Microchannels,” ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering, 137(3): 031208–031208-7, 2015, doi: 10.1115/1.4029033
• Mosier, T., Hill, D.F., and K.V. Sharp, “30-Arcsecond Monthly Climate Surfaces With Global Land Coverage,” International Journal of Climatology, 34(7):2175-2188, 2014, dos: 10.1002/joc.3829
• Mohammadi, M. and K. Sharp, “Experimental Techniques for Bubble Dynamics Analysis in Microchannels: A Review,” Journal of Fluids Engineering – Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 135(2):021202-1-021202-10, 2013
• Cobb, B. and K. Sharp, “Impulse (Turgo and Pelton) Turbine Performance Characteristics and Their Impact on Pico-hydro Installations,” Renewable Energy, 50:959-964, 2013, doi10.1016/j.renene.2012.08.010
• Mohammadi, M., Jovanovic, G. and K.V. Sharp, “Numerical Study of Flow Uniformity and Pressure Characteristics within a Microchannel Array with Triangular Manifolds,” Computers & Chemical Engineering, 52:134-144, 2013, doi 10.1016/j.compchemeng.2012.12.010