June 25-30, 2006
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
A total of 74 talks were presented in plenary sessions with session topics ranging from experimental and theoretical nuclear physics (e.g. nuclear reactions at low energies, nuclei far from stability, etc.) to observational data from stars and element production in the Universe. The focus of the conference this year was aimed more at experimental and theoretical nuclear physics although stellar observations and astrophysical models were also well represented. A number of new and innovative techniques have been presented which provide key data to understand nuclear processes in the cosmos. These include recoil mass separators for direct reaction rate studies, AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) techniques, radioactive beam systems, table-top storage rings, penning ion traps, and sophisticated arrays for gamma-ray detection.
The contributions presented during NIC-IX showed that a large amount of activities carried on at large-scale facilities as well as at small installations are presently providing access to nuclear structure and reaction properties of a vast variety of nuclei.
The next Nuclei in the Cosmos conference, NIC-X, will be hosted in 2008 by the Michigan State University/National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, JINA, in the United States.