Sarah Catherine Sharples (born 1972) is a British chartered ergonomist and academic specialising in

human factors and ergonomics Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intellig ...

. She has served as Professor of Human Factors at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

since 2012 and chief scientific adviser for the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

since 2021. she has spent all her academic career at the University of Nottingham, and served as pro-vice-chancellor for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) from 2018 to 2021. In June 2025, it was announced that she would be joining the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in September 2025 as vice-president and dean of its Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Education

Sharples was educated at

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' day school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, South West (London sub region), South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' ...

, an all-girls

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in London. She studied psychology, human factors, and engineering at the University of Nottingham (BSc, MSc, PhD). Her

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

investigated

Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

Induced Symptoms and Effects (VRISE).

Career and research

In 2024 she was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and Scholarship, fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in United K ...

(FREng) In 2025 she was appointed Vice President and Dean at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharples, Sarah 1972 births Living people Academics of the University of Nottingham People educated at Wimbledon High School Alumni of the University of Nottingham Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering