Third-year graduate student David Ruth from New Hampshire stands on the National Mall lawn in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 22, 2017. Ruth is working to get his doctorate in nuclear physics. “Publicly funded science has done a lot for us. It’s brought us to where we are in modern civilization. I feel a really big draw to be able to understand things that aren’t necessarily intuitive. … Even if you don’t make some big discovery, every scientist plays at least some part in expanding our knowledge,” Ruth said.