Stardust, Meteorites & Cosmochemistry: Birthplace at Chicago

What are we made of, and where did it come from? Cosmochemist Andy Davis explains how the study of meteorites, stardust, and isotopes reveals the origin of the solar system, and how the University of Chicago became the birthplace of the field. In this Compton Lecture, Davis traces 80 years of cosmochemistry at Chicago: Harold Urey's work on deuterium and oxygen isotope thermometry, the Miller-Urey experiment, Willard Libby's radiocarbon dating, Clair Patterson's measurement of the age of the solar system, and Anthony Turkevich's first chemical analysis of the Moon's surface. He then covers the discoveries of presolar grains (real stardust from other stars found inside meteorites), the oxygen and titanium isotope puzzles, how the Moon formed, and CHILI, the laser instrument his group built in Chicago to analyze single grains of stardust. He closes with the field's open questions and upcoming sample-return missions, including Japan's MMX mission to Mars's moon Phobos. 0:00 Welcome and introduction of Andy Davis 1:46 Why 50? The Compton Lectures at 50 2:57 What is cosmochemistry? 4:26 Harold Urey and the birth of the field at Chicago 6:28 Radiocarbon dating and the Miller-Urey experiment 8:03 Clair Patterson and the age of the solar system 8:45 Anthony Turkevich and the first analysis of the Moon 9:28 Chicago's cosmochemistry legacy 10:59 Edward Anders and the state of the field 12:52 Oxygen isotopes: Clayton's discovery 15:14 The Allende meteorite 18:41 Self-shielding and the Genesis solar wind mission 20:55 Isotope anomalies: titanium and beyond 24:42 The dichotomy becomes a trichotomy 25:53 The Moon-forming impact and Theia 26:48 Stardust: noble gases and the hunt for presolar grains 28:43 Nanodiamonds and silicon carbide 30:37 Finding the needle in the haystack 31:26 How we know presolar grains come from other stars 35:42 Resonance ionization mass spectrometry 38:45 Stardust from AGB stars 39:49 CHILI: the Chicago Instrument for Laser Ionization 43:51 Presolar graphite and supernova grains 46:04 How old is stardust? 47:17 Big open questions in cosmochemistry 48:46 Who is doing cosmochemistry today 49:35 Upcoming sample-return missions 50:31 Q&A Speaker: Andy Davis, Professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago Part of the 50th anniversary Compton Lecture series, a free public lecture series from the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago. Recorded: October 17, 2026 More lectures from the Enrico Fermi Institute:    • The Compton Lectures: 50 Years of Discovery   Learn more: efi.uchicago.edu #Cosmochemistry #Meteorites #EnricoFermiInstitute