Jason Sharples is a mathematical scientist and internationally recognised expert in dynamic bushfire behaviour and extreme bushfire development. He has led several Australian Research Council and Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre projects. He has published over 130 research articles on subjects including extreme bushfire propagation and bushfire risk management. In the last five years, he has been awarded over $2.2 million in research grants.

Professor Sharples was an expert advisor to the NSW Independent Inquiry into the 2019/20 bushfires and an expert witness at the 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. In 2021 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in recognition of his research and impact on the fire management industry.