“I do science because I want to understand the world. Science matters because it is a way to see our world using reliable knowledge, such as observation and experiment, that can be discussed and verified.” — Eun-Joo Ahn, Lecturer
“We do science for the same reason we make art—we simply can’t help ourselves, and it is what makes us human. While art allows us to translate, understand and communicate the internal, science allows us to translate, understand and communicate the external. Like a painter’s attempt to capture the grandeur of a mountain range in a landscape; a scientist’s model to describe the Universe is only our best approximation of the world around us… Our urge to pursue science despite our limited tools to do so is an expression of our perseverance and drive to find truth. ” — Claire Laffan, Graduate Student
“I do science because it allows me to collaborate with people from all over the world on a shared goal. I love working on something that no one has done before, trying to answer very fundamental questions about nature.” — Elise Le Boulicaut Ennis, Postdoctoral Associate
“I do science because it nurtures my curiosity and gives me a community. In times when honest discussion becomes scarcer, conversations with my colleagues help me realize what I don’t know and how to communicate my ideas and questions better.” — Eduardo Castro Muñoz, Graduate Student
“Science matters because it allows us to better understand ourselves, to better understand the world around us, and to better understand the result of the mutual interactions between ourselves and the world. The scientific enterprise—and the knowledge it generates—is thus a critical part of both building and maintaining prosperous societies, and of attaining a greater quality of life for Earth’s inhabitants.” — Charles Brown, Assistant Professor
“There are many reasons for why I do what I do, but, ultimately, I do science for the awe and wonder it brings. I find it amazing that the world works the way it does; that everything worked to bring us to being where we are and who we are today. Everything had to work ‘just so’ for us to exist today, and everything did work just so. The more I learn, the more I want to know.” — Reina Maruyama, Professor
“I do science for the same reason others play sports, make music, produce art, or raise children—because it’s fun, I love doing it, it produces something beautiful, and it makes us human. Physics matters because it often provides simple explanations for what first appear to be vastly different puzzling aspects of nature — think correlations in the locations of galaxies, wavelike cloud formations, ripples on the surface of a pond.” — David Rabinowitz, Senior Research Scientist Emeritus
“Our innovations of recent decades have been like putting on glasses for the first time. People today are seeing the Universe with greater sight than any that came before. This new frontier has only just opened before us; it would be a waste to not explore it. I do physics to be one of the first that gets to see this sight.” — Sophia Hollick, Ph.D. ‘25
“I do science because I want to understand how things work at a fundamental level and build tools that make the world a better, safer place. The line between discovery and application is thinner than people may think, and this work sits right at that frontier.” — Zach Muraskin, Graduate Student
“I do science because I have always been curious about the fundamental nature of the world around me. Science provides the tools to explore the unknown and satisfy that curiosity.” — Tyler D. Stokes, postdoctoral associate