At high energy density, nuclear matter is predicted to undergo a phase transition to a deconfined state consisting of free quarks and gluons. The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory is dedicate to the experimental study of high energy nuclear collisions with the goal of studying such a deconfined state, the Quark‐Gluon Plasma. I will discuss recent results from the STAR experiment pertaining to which suggest novel nuclear effects in the production of high transverse momentum hadrons. © 2003 American Institute of Physics