Ed Sharp was born in Uniontown, PA, attended Wheeling College and John Carroll University and received the Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University in 1966. He conducted basic research in the area of applied nonlinear optics at the U. S. Army Night Vision & Electro-Optics Laboratory and the U. S. Army Research Laboratory. Presently he is working as a consultant on the use of infrared imaging equipment in novel application areas. His major areas of interest include laser crystal physics, thermal imaging materials and devices, electro-optic and nonlinear-optical processes in organic materials, beam-control devices, optical solitons, harmonic generation, optical processing, holographic storage, photorefractive effects in ferroelectric materials and the study of animal ecology using thermal imaging equipment. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 technical publications and holds over 15 patents on optical materials and devices. He is a member of the American Optical Society. Presently he has been working on new methods for using thermal imaging to address issues related to animal ecology and natural resource studies with faculty at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), College of William & Mary.
