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Shikha Sharma is the Marshall S. Miller Energy Professor of Geology in the Department of Geology and Geography within West Virginia University's Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Lucknow and directs the IsoBioGeM Laboratory, focusing on biogeochemistry and sustainable energy solutions. Her research employs isotopic, geochemical, microscopic, spectroscopic, mineralogical, and biological techniques to investigate unconventional shale gas, subsurface CO₂ and H₂ storage, geothermal systems, and critical and rare earth mineral extraction from shales, coals, and brines. Previously at the University of Wyoming, she taught stable isotope mass spectrometry and led early projects on coalbed natural gas water tracing and CO₂ sequestration site characterization.
As principal investigator or co-principal investigator, Sharma has directed numerous funded projects, including an $11.85 million DOE-EERE Geothermal Technologies Office grant for geothermal deep direct-use and reservoir thermal energy storage on the WVU campus (2021-2025), a $749,904 DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences project on subsurface hydrogen storage (2022-2025), the $24.5 million Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (2014-2021, co-PI), and an NSF Early Career Instrumentation award (2012-2015). Her key publications encompass 'Role of pH and Eh in geothermal systems: Thermodynamic examples and impacts on scaling and corrosion' (Geothermics, 2023), 'Modes of Occurrence, Elemental Relationships, and Economic Viability of Rare Earth Elements in West Virginia Coals' (Minerals, 2022), 'Geochemical controls on CO₂ interactions with deep subsurface shales' (Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 2021), and 'Role of Biogeochemistry in efficient shale oil and gas production' (Fuel, 2020). Selected as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of West Virginia in 2024, her contributions have influenced energy research through extensive press coverage in outlets such as Science Magazine, NPR, and EurekAlert on geothermal energy, carbon capture, and shale contaminants.
Explore WVU's groundbreaking research uncovering lithium in pyrite from Appalachian shales, a promising source for sustainable battery production amid rising EV demand.
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