Richard Wittebort is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Louisville. He studied at Ohio State University (B.S.), Indiana University (PH.D.) and M.I.T. (NIH postdoctoral fellow). His multidisciplinary research bridges physics, chemistry, and biology and he has published over 72 peer-reviewed journal articles spanning structural biology, molecular dynamics, physical chemistry, coherent spectroscopy and instrument design. Soft matter, such as elastic proteins in humans is the emphasis of current research. Recent publications include Elastin Recoil is Driven by the Hydrophobic Effect, NM Jamhawi, RL Koder, RJ Wittebort, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 121(11), 2024