The World-Wide Effort to Understand the Visible Matter in Our Universe

A general goal in nuclear physics is to explain the origin, evolution, and structure of the visible matter in the universe. Today, nuclear physicists are working at a wide range of facilities around the world to provide information to help guide us to an understanding of this issue. I will provide a general overview of the field, which will focus on the important questions that are being addressed, the facilities that are being used to answer them, and a roadmap of the new construction projects that will define the field in the next decade.