Advancing and Applying Stellar Nucleosynthesis: Using Stars to Probe Galaxies

The chemical elements around us were made in stars from hydrogen and helium produced in the Big Bang. Understanding how this happens has been identified as one of the major tasks of 21st Century astronomy and astrophysics. We will combine our recent advances in understanding the structure of stars, especially models of mixing and nuclear burning processes, to produce the most complete and accurate models yet, including, for the first time, the production of all of the heavy elements. We will use these data to work with the new astronomical instruments, being built for Australia's largest optical telescope, to test the models and to help determine the processes involved in the formation and evolution of our Galaxy.