Title: A. G. W. Cameron 1925-2005, Biographical Memoir, National Academy of Sciences,
Abstract: Alastair Graham Walker Cameron was an astrophysicist and planetary scientist
of broad interests and exceptional originality. A founder of the field of
nuclear astrophysics, he developed the theoretical understanding of the
chemical elementsâ origins and made pioneering connections between the
abundances of elements in meteorites to advance the theory that the Moon
originated from a giant impact with the young Earth by an object at least the
size of Mars. Cameron was an early and persistent exploiter of computer
technology in the theoretical study of complex astronomical systemsâincluding
nuclear reactions in supernovae, the structure of neutron stars, and planetary
collisions.