Dr Sharma has made original pioneering contribution to the understanding of the behaviour of thin films and other highly confined nanoscale systems. He has explained the instability and evolution of morphology of thin films on homogeneous substrates by 3D nonlinear stability theory and experiments. He has proposed a new theory for dewetting of thin films on heterogeneous and patterned substrates leading to a novel method for the small scale patterning of polymer films by templating. He has also discovered a new surface instability of the soft solid films that governs adhesion, peeling, friction and associated interface phenomena.