Abstract

Red giants can be great tracers of galactic chemical evolution since they can be studied to large distances. However, the mixture of elements they were born with can be altered over the course of their lifetimes due to creation, destruction, and mixing. In this talk, I will discuss the current state of our ability to get precise ages for these stars using asteroseismology, and how they can be used to map galactic chemical evolution. I will discuss observed changes in surface chemistry that occur at the first dredge up and above the red giant branch bump, and our current understanding of the physical mechanisms for these changes. Finally, I will discuss some of the impacts that binary interactions can have on these abundances and whether they can be used as one tracer of current or past binary interactions.