Om Sharma Senior Fellow United Technologies Research Center

Dr. Sharma received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi in India and his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Birmingham University in Birmingham UK.

He joined Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford Connecticut in 1977 in Turbine Technology Group. In 1992 he was transferred to the Fans and Compressor Group as Chief of Aerodynamics. In 1998 he joined United Technologies Research Center as the Director of Modeling Simulation Analysis and Computational (MASC) initiative to enhance product development efforts in various divisions of the United Technology Corporation. He went back to Pratt & Whitney in 2000 to set up Center of Excellence in Aerodynamics to support the development of advanced commercial and military engines. Since 2007, he has been at the United Technologies Research Center as the Senior Technical Fellow in Aerodynamics and Gas Turbines.

He has made significant contributions to enhance the design processes used in axial flow turbines by utilizing a combination of physical and numerical experiments. He pioneered the use 3-D airfoils, clocking of airfoil rows, clocking of combustor generated hot-streaks to turbine first vanes to enhance the performance, and durability as well as structural integrity of turbines. He led the introduction of CFD based multi-stage codes to improve the performance and operability in fans and compressors including active stall avoidance demonstration in an operational gas turbine engine. In addition to providing assistance in solving tough technical problems, his current focus is on providing leadership in developing new design concepts to improve gas turbine engines by utilizing advanced high fidelity numerical simulations and controlled experiments.

Honors & awards:
-2019 R. Tom Sawyer Award “for contributions at the forefront of turbomachinery technology development in advanced engines for military and commercial applications through career efforts that have championed and harnessed the best available physics based analysis methods to pioneer step changes in turbomachinery capability”,
- International Gas Turbine Institute Scholar Award (2011),
- International Gas Turbine Institute Aircraft Engine Technology Award (2007),
- Distinguished Alumni Award from Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India (1999), presented by the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi in recognition of outstanding technical achievements in developing high performance propulsion systems for aircrafts and rockets,
- United Technologies Corporation’s George Mead Medal (1995) presented to Dr. Sharma and a co-worker for outstanding technical achievement in developing and demonstrating compressor stability management and control system in gas turbine engines,
- Pratt & Whitney Special Award (1989) presented for outstanding contribution to the advancement of Science and Technology in developing low pressure turbine airfoil design criteria that allowed 1% improvement in Low Pressure Turbine efficiencies operating at altitude cruise conditions.