November 4, 2014 - John D'Auria
We Are Stardust: The Origin of the Chemical Elements


John M. D'Auria is a Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University and has been working in the area of nuclear chemistry and physics for five decades. He was pivotal in the construction of the ISAC Radioactive Beams Facility at the TRIUMF nuclear accelerator in Vancouver and led the development of laboratory-based measurements of reactions involving unstable nuclei, such as occur in exploding stars. His research in nuclear astrophysics relates to the creation of the chemical elements in Universe: most of the Earth, and what lives on it, is stardust, the elements produced in the life and death of stars.


Suggested reading:
Stephen Weinberg, The First Three Minutes, an easily accessible book that can be read on many levels; Kindle version available.