Ashish Sharma
Climate and Urban Sustainability Lead
Discovery Partners Institute · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urban climate scientist and research leader translating atmospheric science, AI, and high-resolution modeling into actionable infrastructure and resilience solutions.
- $56M+sponsored research portfolio as PI or co-PI
- $11.2MNSF–UKRI CLEETS Global Center
- 67publications
See publications → - 7operational decision-support tools
See toolkits →
Professional overview
Science translated into systems-level action
Ashish Sharma leads multidisciplinary initiatives at the intersection of urban climate, infrastructure, transportation, data science, and public policy. His work brings together universities, government agencies, industry partners, and communities to move research from advanced modeling into real-world decisions.
He directs the NSF–UKRI Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions Global Center and holds appointments with Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His leadership portfolio spans major research programs, operational tools, workforce development, and public service.
Research at the Climate R&D Hub →Our team →CLEETS Global Center ↗AerisIQ ↗
Selected leadership
Building coalitions that deliver public value
Global center leadership
Directs CLEETS, a U.S.–U.K. research and workforce-development center advancing clean energy and transportation solutions.
Cross-sector partnerships
Convenes academic, government, industry, and community partners around shared infrastructure and resilience priorities.
Research-to-operations translation
Leads development of localized forecasting, decision-support, and planning tools for public agencies and infrastructure partners.
Public and policy service
Contributes scientific expertise through Illinois state bodies, professional organizations, briefings, and public engagement.
Recognition and service
Appointments, awards and briefings
- 2026Illinois Commission on Environmental Justice, appointed member
- 2024Illinois State Museum Board, appointed by Governor Pritzker; continuing in 2026
- 2023Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40
- 2023Societal Impact Award, Chicago Council on Science and Technology, to the CROCUS team
- 2022American Planning Association awards for the Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region
- 2021Climate Leadership Award (innovative partnership), with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
- 2021Reviewer, IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group I
- 2019Congressional briefings on the Great Lakes climate assessment, U.S. Senate Climate Task Force and House of Representatives
- Since 2016Fellow, Royal Meteorological Society
Recent work
Selected papers and coverage
Recent papers
- Five shifts to rethink urban heat assessment and actionSharma, Kumar, Klinenberg & Chow · npj Urban Sustainability, 2026
- GPU-accelerated city-scale urban flood forecasting for real-time decision-makingWadhwa, Sharma et al. · npj Natural Hazards, 2026
- Unraveling the intractable trilemma in urban weather and climate modelingLi, Sharma et al. · npj Urban Sustainability, 2026
- Urban climate science needs to step outSharma · Nature Cities, 2025
In the media
- Global warming is coming for the countrysideScience · August 2026
- Chicago 2050: Ashish Sharma on how the city will learn to live with weatherChicago Tribune · April 2026
- Fighting floods, from the Deep Tunnel to neighborhood infrastructureWTTW · April 2026
Curriculum vitae
Download a CV
Credentials
Appointments and education
Current appointments
- Climate and Urban Sustainability Lead, Discovery Partners Institute
- Director, NSF–UKRI CLEETS Global Center
- Atmospheric Scientist (joint appointment), Argonne National Laboratory
- Graduate Faculty, Climate, Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences, UIUC
- Visiting Faculty, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Education
- Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering · Arizona State University
- M.S., Aerospace Engineering · Arizona State University
- B.Tech., Electronics and Communication Engineering · Jaypee University of Information Technology
Research. Partnership. Impact.sharmaa@illinois.eduLinkedIn ↗