Through millennia of work, humanity has built a vast corpus of knowledge about the structure and dynamics of nature. This endeavor has two merits: 1) it enables the development of technologies with the potential to improve overall quality of life, and 2) it replaces ignorance with insight, giving us an expansive and accurate picture of reality. The first of these merits cannot be realized without the second. Technologies cannot advance indefinitely without a progressive understanding of the fundamental laws that govern their function; and the discovery of yet unknown natural laws will allow us to develop otherwise unthinkable advancements in technology. These benefits are strong motivators, but I also believe that the pursuit of knowledge is self-motivated. Discovery often is driven purely by curiosity, with no additional incentive. This is science in its most pure form. For these reasons, both to advance technology and satisfy innate curiosity, my life's work is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of human knowledge through scientific inquiry.