"The content of this work, which was independently presented by Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler, and Hoyle in 1957, represents one of the major advances in the natural sciences in the twentieth century. It effectively answered, in one fell swoop, several interrelated questions that humans have been asking since the beginning of inquiry, such as 'What are stars?' 'How does the sun shine?' 'Why is gold so rare?' 'Where did the elements in our world and in our bodies come from?'" Alan A. Chen, Associate Professor, McMaster University