Born in Hamilton and raised in Ottawa, a geophysicist of Indian origin has been selected the 'Sexiest Man Alive' by People magazine along with Hollywood superstars Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt.

Michael Manga, a 37-year-old geology professor of UC Berkeley, who won the $500,000 MacArthur "genius" grant earlier in 2005, was included in People magazine's world's 14 sexiest men list including Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal and Orlando Bloom among others.

"My first inclination, of course, was to say no, because that's not how I perceive myself," Manga, father of two boys, said. "But it is a way to let people know about science and that it is OK to be a scientist."

The People magazine's list has included academics since 1997 and magazine editors who scanned pictures of this year's MacArthur winners came across the pony-tailed Manga, said Elizabeth Sporkin, People's executive editor.

"I think a lot of people would be thrilled to have him as their professor," Sporkin said. "He has long hair, he's hip, he's young."

Despite what people are saying, Manga refuses to believe that he is the world's most famous geophysicist at the moment. The man who defines "new sexiness" with his uber smartness, wit and intelligence would rather that he gets this recognition for coming up with a ground-breaking scientific idea.

In an exclusive interview with Delhi Times, Manga confesses to be intimidated by the glamourous photo shoot: "Mind you, I'm a scientist."

Since the magazine came out, Manga's phone hasn't stopped ringing. "I'm getting some funny reactions. How do I rate my sexiness on a scale of one to ten? Wow, that's tough. In a way, I find this sexy business a bit embarrassing, because I don't think of myself as sexy.

"My wife laughed for hours when she saw me in the magazine. I kept this whole sexy thing a secret from her! " says Manga.

The smart thing about Manga is, he isn't taking his 15 minutes of fame too seriously.

"I still have to change diapers, cook, vacuum and scrub the toilet seats," he says.

Right now, he's just trying to make his children enjoy spicy Indian food.

Says Manga, "I love spicy Indian curry and kebabs. Sadly, my children won't eat anything spicy."