Ram Swaroop Sharma graduated in 1958 from the University of Rajasthan. He received MSc (Geology) (1960) from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and worked on its Faculty (1961-). Thereafter, he obtained his DPhil (Mineralogy and Petrology) while at the University of Basel under the supervision of Eduard Wenk (1964-68). His thesis was rated summa cum laude and published in journal, Schweiz Mineral Petrog Mitt Bern. He was a senior Alexander van Humboldt Fellow in 1976 and 1982, and visited UK availing the Royal Society Scholarship in 1983 when he worked with BF Windley at Leicester. He was twice Visiting Faculty at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia (1994 and 1996). After superannuation (1997), he worked as CSIR Emeritus Scientist and INSA Senior Scientist at University of Rajasthan, and then as INSA Honorary Scientist at Jaipur.

Academic and Research Achievements: Sharma was deeply interested in metamorphic petrology and tectonics and carried out systematic geological investigations on the Precambrian rocks of the Aravalli Mountain belt in Rajasthan. His pioneering work related to the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the Sandmata granulite complex which was the first ever documentation of anticlock-wise P-T path from the Indian shield, published in Geophysic J Royal Soc, 73 (1983). Sharma's penetrating researches on the Precambrian high-grade rocks made lasting impact and went a long way in characterizing the tectono-metamorphic evolution of the deep continental crust of the Aravalli mountain belt. He published about 100 papers, authored the book Cratons and Fold Belts of India (Springer Verlag, Heidelberg) and supervised a large number of dissertations, including 10 PhD theses.

Other Contributions: Sharma served as Chairman of several important scientific bodies, including the Project Monitoring Committee of the Department of Science & Technology. He was Member of the Editorial boards of Journal of the Geological Society of India and Indian Mineralogist.

Awards and Honours: Professor Sharma was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (1989) and is Foreign Fellow of the Swiss Mineralogical Society, Bern (1980).