96-18459 Smith, Verne Dr. Smith plans a program of research which will increase understanding of stellar nucleosynthesis and the early chemical evolution of our Galaxy. His observational program will investigate stellar abundances in globular clusters and the halo field of our Milky Way Galaxy, as well as in field stars in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. A comparison of the detailed abundance profiles among these populations will shed light on the formation and relative star formation histories, and the resultant nucleosynthesis in these stellar systems. Dr. Smith intends to increase sample sizes and quality to address several particularly intriguing recent results: a) the observed difference in r- process elemental abundance patterns between field halo and globular cluster stars and b) the extent and nature o the variations in light element abundances (e.g. C, N, O, Na) seen among samples in individual globular clusters. The first result may suggest that there has been a segregation in nucleosynthetic sites of the alpha-process versus the r- process elements in the early galaxy. The second area of research is aimed at better understanding the relative importance and cause of abundance variations due to internal stellar mixing and/or primordial abundance effects. ***
