Sharon Levin is Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She joined the department in 1974 and from 1987-1998 served as its chair. Prior to accepting an early-retirement buyout in December 2002, she was Professor of Economics, Director of Graduate Studies and co-chair of the department.

Dr. Levin's research currently focuses on the quality and composition of the scientific workforce. A major theme has been the impact of immigration on the careers of U.S. scientists and engineers. Levin's research has received external support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Exxon Education Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. She has also worked with the National Research Council on various projects and is presently a member of the Network on the Scientific Workforce sponsored by the Sloan Foundation in conjunction with the National Bureau of Economic Research Inc. In addition, she has served as a consultant to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute on issues concerning scientific productivity over the life cycle. In 1993 she was awarded the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research and Creativity by the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Dr. Levin graduated from the City College of New York (Phi Beta Kappa) with a B.A. in Economics and earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan. She has published numerous articles in journals including, for example, The American Economic Review, Science, The Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Urban Economics, the Southern Economic Journal, and the Social Studies of Science. In 1992 Levin co-authored with Paula Stephan, Striking the Mother Lode in Science, published by Oxford University Press. This book was reviewed in Science, Chemical and Engineering News, Journal of Economic Literature, the Southern Economic Journal and The Journal of Higher Education. Her research on the careers of scientists and engineers has also been the focus of stories in The Economist, Science, The Scientist and various newspapers and magazines in the United States and abroad.