Right off the bat, Subhash Risbud says he's not a typical engineering professor.

First, the chair of the chemical engineering and materials science department is an avid performer of Indian classical vocal music. And second, he's a top-notch cricket player.

"Engineering professors tend to be generally nerdy, as my daughter would say," Risbud said. "Now that she's herself an engineer, too, she can't easily say that."

Despite the rigors of his engineering responsibilities, Risbud has always tried to maintain a well-rounded life, he said. But at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, where Risbud received his bachelor's degree, that was a pretty difficult proposition.

"In India, if you are going into engineering, you don't have time for much else at all," he said.

Risbud defied the odds when he served as opening bowler for the institute's intercollegiate cricket team - a position akin to a baseball starting pitcher in the British bat and ball sport. Though he might have devoted more time to his studies, he doesn't regret his experience one bit.

"The appeal of cricket for me is first that it's a very good athletic thing; I was good at bowling," Risbud said. "Second, there is the camaraderie of the 11 people. You feel the team spirit."

He later played at UC Berkeley, where he received his master's and doctoral degrees, and for a team made of the best players from all over Northern California.

Today he plays occasional "friendly" matches with the Davis Cricket Club.

Risbud has been playing cricket since he was a young boy growing up in Delhi. He came to Indian classical music much later, in 1988. After some initial nudging by his wife, Smita, Risbud joined a weekly class in Sacramento.

As an instructor plays the harmonium, a tabletop keyboard instrument, or tabla hand drums, students sing songs in the Indian melodic framework called raga, consisting of seven notes designed to create a certain mood. It's a difficult-yet-rewarding pastime, he said.

"I stuck to it because it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and your confidence increases every time you perform," Risbud said.

Students in the group now perform at a variety of cultural centers and churches.

Risbud retains his active nature on campus. He's a regular participant in Experimen-tal College programs, where he has taken breathing meditation and self-awareness classes, among others.

He plans to spend next year at Stanford University working in the university's Synchrotron Radiation Lab. The glass specialist will conduct experiments in his latest research on quantum dots. These are nanostructures, or particles less than a millionth of an inch in size, found in glass that may make the transmission of signals in telecommunication optics more effective, he said.

Risbud lives in Davis with Smita, an avid ceramic potter at the Davis Art Center. The couple's daughter, Aditi, is a graduate student in materials science at UC Santa Barbara.

Which Indian classical performer would you recommend listening to?

Ali Akbar Khan of San Rafael in Marin County. We call him Khan Saheb, as a mark of respect. He's an instrumentalist. He plays the sarod, a stringed instrument like a sitar. Two years ago he got a MacArthur genius grant.

How does cricket differ from baseball?

There is a lot more finesse in cricket. Baseball is much more rugged. Cricket is both a sport and an art. Baseball, it seems to me, is just a sport. Cricket has a style and a grace.

What is your favorite place on campus?

I like walking along Putah Creek. I love the Shakespearean-style bridges. In the wintertime, when there's fog, it's a very pretty place.

What do you like best about your job?

Teaching students materials science at the freshman and sophomore levels. That appeals to me the most. The students are more open and less cynical at that point. There's an opportunity at that stage to influence them and attract them to this field.

How about least?

Going out and constantly seeking funding for your research. It's part of the university enterprise I don't enjoy doing.

What are your plans for your summer vacation?

Nothing spectacular. I will be going to a conference in Aachen, Germany, about gallium nitride. That's a very exciting material for light emission devices. There's a whole conference devoted to that.

We might hang around and take a bus tour of three or four different countries after that. And then, I am really looking forward to my Stanford sabbatical all of next year. •