Strongly interacting nucleons: from few to many

In this talk I will discuss nuclei, neutron stars, and ultracold atomic gases. The unifying theme will be the interplay of two- (or higher-) body interactions, wave function correlations, and the methods employed to solve the quantum many-particle problem. After some pedagogical comments on nuclear forces and many-body methods, I will focus on some of my group's recent results. The problems tackled include pairing in heavy nuclei, systems of reduced dimensionality, as well as the interplay of external fields and strong correlations. Throughout, I will attempt to make connections with current or future experimental measurements. I will end with a laundry list of near-term projects, as well as some observations on longer-term goals.