Physics Colloquium

The vision of solving the nuclear physics with fundamental interactions tied to quantum chromodynamics, the underlying theory of the strong interactions, appears to approach reality. The goals are to preserve the predictive power of the underlying theory, to test fundamental symmetries with the nucleus as laboratory and to develop new understandings of the full range of complex nuclear phenomena. Advances in theoretical frameworks as well as in computational resources signal a new generation of theory simulations that are yielding new knowledge on origins of nuclear shell structure, collective phenomena and complex reaction dynamics. I will outline some recent achievements and present ambitious consensus plans along with their challenges for a coming decade of research that will strengthen the links between nuclear physics and astrophysics, and between nuclear physics and nuclear energy applications.