A series of four nuclear physics lectures given by Prof. Richard Casten from Yale University. These lectures will provide a simple overview of the structure of atomic nuclei, including empirical signatures of structure, the dependence of structure on proton and neutron numbers, the complementarity of microscopic ( nucleon-based) and macroscopic (many-body and symmetry perspective) approaches. After an overview of nuclear structure and a discussion of the shell model and standard collective models in the first two lectures, the microscopic drivers of collectivity, nuclear shape evolution and phase transitions will be discussed in the 3rd lecture.The 4th lecture will focus on the implications of these ideas for exotic nuclei and the opportunities they present.

Recordings of these lectures can be found via https://indico.cern.ch/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=252938