He has some notion of proper plant requirements but to say he's an expert would be a bit of a stretch. Primarily, he's a biologist with a wide range of coverage when it comes to anything organic, whilst not exactly skilled in leadership, Richard's position aboard the station is being the head of science. He can be usually seen tinkering around with biochemicals and samples in the lab, tending to the flora in the O2 compartment or hanging out in the medical bay.

He goes by many names. Richard being his actual name but going by Ríša for short because of his country of origin. If it's not Ríša, it's most definitely Rusty, hinting at his dark rusty red hair often used by his crewmates to tease him about it. Now, Prof. Eggplant was solely made up to bully Richard for the odd use of purple colour for his spacesuit and his fascination with botany, including his study about as to why you should eat fruiting vegetables (including eggplants) uncooked.

Despite the HQ's prohibition of bringing any pets aboard the ship, Richard is a proud owner of his pet hamster! His name is Jules, named after Jules Verne, a French novelist Richard holds a special place in his heart for. Jules can be seen rolling around in his little plastic ball all across the station, following his owner or napping in his lab coat. Jules has his own little coop in the main laboratory where he spends most of his time eating, sleeping, climbing and crawling through the various toys Richard has given him.