Video: Subhash Risbud's Life and Times at UC Davis
The UC Davis Emeriti Association recently published an interview with Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Subhash Risbud.
The interview, conducted by James Shackelford, himself a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of materials science and engineering, is part of the Video Records Project. The project is an effort by the UC Davis Emeriti Association to preserve the history of the university through firsthand accounts of individuals and groups that have been instrumental in making UC Davis a leading institution.
After working in the industry and serving on the faculty of Lehigh University in Nebraska, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Arizona, Risbud joined UC Davis in 1990. At the time, materials science was a division of mechanical engineering, and Risbud was instrumental in shifting the division to a joint department with chemical engineering.
He served as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and played a major role in establishing the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, becoming its first chair in 2016.
For over 35 years, Risbud and his group have worked on amorphous materials, biophotonics, nanotechnology and environmental effects on human health, nurturing healthy working relationships with industries, universities and national laboratories. His worldwide reputation has led to several honors and awards, including the 2020 W. Kingery Award and 2025 James I. Mueller Award from the American Ceramic Society and election to the World Academy of Ceramics.
On campus, Risbud has served as the director of the Internship and Career Center and has been acknowledged for his exemplary teaching, receiving an Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Engineering in 2005 and a Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award from the UC Davis Academic Senate in 2008.
After formal retirement in late 2022, he is currently a Distinguished Professor on Recall, teaching first-year seminars and advising an all-women group of four graduate students. Risbud has also recently been added to the mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate program faculty roster.