The Impact of Binary Evolution on the Chemical Yields of Low- and Intermediate-Mass Stellar Populations

Stars are responsible for forging most of the elements of the periodic table. Stars with masses up to ~8 times as massive as our Sun forged significant amounts of the carbon, nitrogen, and elements heavier than iron currently present in the Galaxy. At least half of these stars are observed in pairs, called binary stars. Binary stars that interact with each other can alter how they forge new elements. In my thesis, I model stellar populations of binary stars and calculate how the presence of stellar companions changes our understanding of the origin of the elements from these stars.