Title: The Origin of the Heaviest Elements

Abstract: Understanding the origin of the elements remains one of the major challenges of modern astrophysics. I will introduce some of the open questions in the field and present several major advances from recent years. These advances include measuring the most complete heavy element chemical inventory beyond the Solar System and the first detection of transuranic fission fragments in stars. These advances can help shape the experiments carried out by the next generation of extremely large optical telescopes and future space flagship missions in the 2030s and 2040s.