The Physics of Protein Structure and Dynamics: When and Why Proteins Fold or Don’t Fold

• The readers will benefit from being provided with an in-depth overview of the physical concepts that govern different aspects of protein folding, disorder and self-assembly. By emphasizing the relationship between these issues, the approach adds a holistic character to the book
• The book is to a major extent mathematically based. Mathematics is part of the language of physicists and physical chemists which cannot be properly substituted by words
• For instructors, the book will offer a unique source for her/his teaching of current protein physics issues
• The way how the book will be constructed (multiple references to primary literature with DOI links, literature-based problem sets and topics for discussion) will facilitate a learning process suitable for research-oriented students
• Problem solving frequently requires the writing of short computer programs, something that is underemphasized in chemistry and biochemistry education (with the exception of computationally trained students, of course)

Reinhard Schweitzer-Stenner is a vibrational spectroscopist and biophysical chemist whose research focuses on the structure, dynamics, and function of biological molecules. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, he has combined spectroscopic, theoretical, and computational approaches to investigate heme proteins, peptides, and other complex biomolecular systems, contributing to advances in molecular spectroscopy, biophysics, and physical chemistry. He is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at Drexel University, where he served on the faculty for nearly two decades, becoming Full Professor in 2009 before retiring in 2022 and remaining research active. His international academic career has included appointments in Germany, Puerto Rico, and the United States, including at Universität Bremen, where he received his habilitation in 1990, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, before joining Drexel in 2003. His teaching has covered biophysics, spectroscopy, physical chemistry, atomic and molecular physics, statistical thermodynamics, and bioinorganic chemistry at undergraduate and graduate level, reflecting a rare breadth across the physical and biological chemistry interface.