Carl Edward Sagan (1934 –1996) holds a special place in the pantheon of science communicators. He was an American astronomer and planetary scientist, held professorships at Harvard and Cornell, and is remembered for co-writing and narrating the 1980 documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which, it is claimed, has been seen by 500 million people in 60 countries.
There are many contenders for a favourite Carl Sagan quote, but here we’ll just mention one: “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
Our speaker, Dr Niall Smith, is MTU’s. Head of Research Cork Campus and Head of Blackrock Castle Observatory. It is several years since we have welcomed Niall to our Club, and we are eager to hear from him again.
Where and when: UCC’s Ashley Cummins building (formerly known as Civil Engineering, near College Road entrance to the main campus). 8 pm, Monday 9th March 2026. Please arrive 10 minutes early – or earlier if you wish to join our Club. This is a public lecture, all welcome. For UCC map go to Calendar