I spend a lot of time in the laboratory talking with students about our research. For me, research is very rewarding and very personal. If you make no effort in research, you go nowhere. When you finish a piece of research, that accomplishment is truly yours. Doing research is also incredibly demanding.
Researchers are by definition problem solvers.
Since there's no shortage of problems in today's world, we're lucky to have people dedicated to research. Since I am a faculty member, my work involves more than my research. I spend plenty of time in my office writing grant proposals and papers. During the year I also teach and attend many meetings on campus. I travel frequently to scientific conferences or to other universities to talk about our results.