Astronomy & Astrophysics

The Godfrey Distinguished Lectures in Astrophysics are made possible by the will of William E. Godfrey of Clemson, SC. Mr. Godfrey wished his bequest to be used "in the study and teaching of astronomy". In 1991 it was decided to endow annual lectures by an astrophysicist of great renown. The goal is that students and faculty have access to a distinguished scientific leader, who normally presents during his week's visit a Research Colloquium within the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and a lecture known as The Godfrey Distinguished Lecture for the public and for nonscientist students and faculty, and a specialized research seminar with the astrophysics group.

2004 Godfrey Lecture Silver Threads and Golden Needles: Making Exotic Heavy Elements in the Milky Way Galaxy Professor Chris Sneden University of Texas Thursday, 15 April 2004 7:30pm 224 Brackett Hall

Abstract

Elements beyond the iron group, the heaviest 60 elements in the Periodic Table, are very rare in nature. In the Sun for example, for every one of these atoms there are about 100 million hydrogen atoms and nearly 10 thousand iron atoms. But these heaviest elements include the well-known precious metals, the radioactive elements, and others vital to life on the Earth. This is the story of how observations of the chemical compositions of old stars leads directly to the story of how our Milky Way galaxy makes the exotic heavy elements.

Previous Godfrey Lecturers