Biography

Subhash Risbud wears many hats, only one of which involves his academic responsibilities in the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. He’s also director of the campus’ Internship and Career Center, and — far more intriguingly — a devoted cultural ambassador for the Indian classical music that has fascinated him since 1988, when he joined a weekly class in Sacramento.

Numerous UC Davis College of Engineering faculty members and alumni have made discoveries that are out of this world, but only a few enterprising souls have ventured out of this world themselves.

Pieter Stroeve, a distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, has excelled at both fundamental ends of the academic spectrum. He is an indispensable and frequently honored instructor, beloved by students who cherish his ability to make abstract, theoretical concepts understandable with real-world models. He also is at the forefront of cutting-edge solar panel technology, and — in the very near future — his research breakthroughs are likely to change the way we power our homes.

A 2004 NASA report on the challenges of crafting a food system for an expedition to Mars detailed the apparently conflicting goals of minimizing resources while providing safe and nutritious foodstuffs for the astronauts. One of the planned research projects, the development of a “multipurpose fruit and vegetable processing system for advanced life support,” was assigned to R.

Despite its massive population, our world can seem remarkably small at times.

After earning an undergraduate degree from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, in 1977, Linda Katehi came to the United States and did her graduate work at UCLA, earning both a master’s degree and doctorate in electrical engineering. One of the UCLA faculty serving on her dissertation committee was Neville C. Luhmann Jr., well into his lengthy stint in the university’s Department of Electrical Engineering.

Mike Child has a very close relationship with UC Davis. He graduated in 1976, with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering; he subsequently obtained an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of business in 1980. His wife, Renée, also graduated from UC Davis in 1976, with degrees in psychology and German. They have five grown children; one daughter is a UC Davis student, while a second is a recent UC Davis graduate.

Michael Savageau, a distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering, recently extended his long list of accolades in May 2011, when he received an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Lleida, in Spain.

Engineers and those working or studying at UC Davis know John Kemper as the second dean of the College of Engineering, a position he held from 1969 until his retirement in 1983. Kemper’s presence is felt to this day, not least by virtue of the College of Engineering hall named in his honor.

When Joe Mauk Smith died in June 2009, Bob Powell — then chair of UC Davis’ Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science — offered the highest of accolades: “By virtue of his textbooks, Joe was arguably the most influential educator in the history of chemical engineering. He certainly set the standard for the department and the college.”

At a reception held Jan. 15, 2011, to celebrate the venerable UC Davis Nelson Gallery’s new home, James Shackelford — a professor in the campus’ Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science — spoke eloquently about the wide-ranging academic atmosphere that makes UC Davis so special:

“In a campus with agricultural roots and something of a techie reputation, we’ve also had this great art department evolve over the years. It’s an example of the diversity and richness of UC Davis.”