After completing his PhD, Sharpe continued on at
Johns Hopkins University as the
Alonzo G. Decker professor of mechanics engineering and served as department chair from 1983 to 1995. Since retiring he is professor emeritus. He started his research employing optical techniques and particularly laser-based interferometry from his graduate work to interrogate fatigue and elastoplasticity of metals. With the invention of
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), he applied his method to the
in situ measurement of MEMS mechanical properties at relevant length scales. He was active in the Society for Experimental Stress Analysis and later renamed
Society for Experimental Mechanics, serving as president from 1984 to 1985. He served as the Editor for the
Springer Handbook of Experimental Solid Mechanics. == Awards and recognition ==