Historical Developments and Moments in Nuclear Astrophysics

This talk will provide a historical analysis of the impact of academic nuclear physics in the 1930s on the US Manhattan Project from 1942 to 1945 and how it influenced the nuclear test program 1945-1970. The talk will also discuss the subsequent impact of the Manhattan Project towards the development of the field of Nuclear Astrophysics and the interpretation of nuclear reaction processes in stars and explosive stellar environments, which still shapes our understanding and interpretation of stellar nucleosynthesis today.

Talk slides can be provided on request.