Sharad Sharma

Sharad Sharma is the Associate Dean of Research and a Professor in the Department of Data Science at the University of North Texas (UNT)'s College of Information. He leads the DVXR Lab and DSII Center, focusing on VR/AR applications for emergency response, evacuation simulations, and data visualization. His research integrates data science with virtual reality to address challenges in healthcare, education, and disaster management.

Education: Ph.D. in Computer Engineering (Wayne State University), M.S. (University of Michigan), B.Arch (Birla Institute of Technology, India).

His research interests span Data Science, AI, Software Engineering, and Human Behavior Modeling in emergency scenarios. He has pioneered multi-agent systems for active shooter response training and VR-based evacuation drills in subway, airplane, and university settings.

Awards:

• Outstanding Mentor Award (2023, 2024)
• 2018 USM Board of Regents Faculty Award
• Presidential Achievement Award (BSU, 2022)
• Outstanding Researcher Awards (2013, 2011)

Grants and Leadership: Secured funding from DoD, DHS, NSF, and ARL. Directed BSU's Virtual Reality Lab and chaired conferences like SEDE 2017-2019 and ERVR-2025. His work emphasizes socio-cultural aspects of emergency response in dense urban environments.

Labs & Teams:

• Data Visualization and Extreme Reality (DVXR) Lab
• Data Science & Industry Innovation (DSII) Center