My talk will address fundamental questions about the origin of matter and the origin of the Universe through underground experiments searching for rare event physics processes such as neutrinoless double- beta decay and direct detection of dark matter. Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) at Homestake in Lead, South Dakota will be one of the best underground facility performing these types of experiments for decades to come. The new research progress in underground science to date are largely embodied in detecting neutrinos and dark matter particles. Neutrinos and dark matter are believed to hold the key to physics beyond the standard model. but detecting and measuring their properties are believed to be very difficult. Of particular importance for these experiments is a deep understanding of backgrounds. My research focus is dedicated to the understanding of various sources of background and the development of techniques to produce pure materials, and my group has positioned ourselves to a central role in this area. In my talk, I will introduce my research programs and the University of South Dakota as well as DUSEL.