#StayHappening
Wed, 07 Oct, 2026 at 08:30 pm UTC+02:00

Science & Cocktails : Sophie Van Eck - We Are Made of Stars: The Cosmic Origin of the Elements

  • Chaussée Saint-Pierre 210, 1040 Brussels, Belgium · Etterbeek
atelier 210 Publisher / Host atelier 210
Share
Science & Cocktails : Sophie Van Eck - We Are Made of Stars: The Cosmic Origin of the Elements
Advertisement

Science & Cocktails #47
07.10.26
doors: 19:30 · talk : 20:30 · concert : 22:00
tickets: 12€ > bit.ly/3UxIl7R
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗦𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗸
Sophie Van Eck is a Professor at the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics of ULB. Her research focuses on the chemical composition of stars—particularly evolved red giant stars—as well as stellar binarity. Her field of expertise is therefore stellar astrophysics.
After completing her PhD at the Faculty of Sciences of the Université libre de Bruxelles, Sophie Van Eck pursued a postdoctoral position at the European headquarters (Munich) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). She then returned to ULB, where she held a postdoctoral position followed by a role as a qualified researcher with the FNRS. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Physics within the Faculty of Sciences at ULB.
𝗪𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
Stars are the universe’s great alchemists, forging the elements that make up the periodic table.
At late stages of their evolution, they release these elements into space, enriching the Galaxy and shaping its chemical evolution. Although we still cannot answer the famous Drake equation, astrophysicists are gradually uncovering pieces of the puzzle: how stars create the elements and how those elements spread through the Galaxy. In this talk, we will explore how stellar factories shape the chemical evolution of the Galaxy and produce the ingredients needed for life as we know it.
𝟱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
- Who discovered what stars are really made of, and why did it take years for her results to be accepted?
- Can a star weigh less than the Sun and still reshape the periodic table?
- How do some stars become cosmic jewelry makers?
- Who makes the universe’s lead?
- Do we know how (metal-)poor the universe can be and still afford life?
𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙈𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚
With their new EP "Warm Ankle", Pretty Much Average woke up already late for work, with a devastating hangover and hazy recollections of the night before. So they skip breakfast, launch into a heavy bassline coupled with a driving drumbeat rocking a cowbell. They throw in a bunch of pitch-shifting, power-chord-blasting, and semitone-craving guitars, while the frontgirl screams her lungs out at her boss or the asshole that followed her home last night.
Advertisement

Event venue

Chaussée Saint-Pierre 210, 1040 Brussels, Belgium, Sint-Pieterssteenweg 210, 1040 Etterbeek, België, Etterbeek, Belgium

Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

Discover more events by tag

Ask AI if this event suits you

Keep the plans coming

More events in Etterbeek

Etterbeek is happening.

See everything else that’s on — concerts, markets, comedy and more.