In this second installment of a two-part episode, Dr. Aydogan Ozcan—a chancellor’s professor in the Samueli Electrical & Computer Engineering school at UCLA, where he also leads the Bio- and Nanophotonics Lab—reflects on some important lessons learned throughout his career that he’s passing on to the next generation of researchers, and we delve into what’s needed to keep the U.S. competitive globally in the research and development realm.