1.3. First stellar iron abundance measurements in the Galactic center

The disk of the Milky Way galaxy shows evidence for gas-phase abundances which increase with decreasing radius (Simpson et al. 1995; Afflerbach et al. 1997). Sustained star formation in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy may be fueled by inflow of inner disk gas (Serabyn & Morris 1996), suggesting that Galactic Center (GC) stars may be metal-rich. Measurements of stellar abundances in the GC allow us to explore the chemical evolution of our Galaxy's nucleus and to infer its star formation history.