BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana State University's Edward Overton once published a research article with the tongue-tangling title, "Effectiveness of Phytoremediation and Bioremediation of n-Alknaes as a Function of the length of the Carbon Chain in Wetland Environments." He also holds a patent for something called a "Microstructure Chromatograph with Rectangular Column." But recently the professor emeritus reached another milestone: He appeared on David Letterman's "Late Show" to talk in plain language about oil. Overton is one of scores of scientists who have toiled for years in obscurity and now find themselves in the middle of a media frenzy, trying to explain the Gulf oil spill to the public. "I usually spend my time analyzing samples and looking at squiggly lines, which is not very sexy," Overton said, with a chuckle.