Practical
Friday, 4 September, 2026
- 16:00 until 17:00
VUB Usquare Campus
Kroonlaan 227
1050 Elsene
Venue: Grand Hall (AC)
Kroonlaan 227
1050 Elsene
Venue: Grand Hall (AC)
Free of charge
Registration until
Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Professor Valerie Trouet invite you to Standing on the Shoulders of Ancients, her inaugural lecture as holder of a Helios Foundation Chair at VUB. The lecture formally inaugurates the Chair and introduces the research she will further develop in collaboration with VUB. Everyone is welcome to join and learn more about her Tree ring research, as well as joining the reception afterwards.
Tree-ring science for the study of human-environment interactions
Over the past century, thousands of tree-ring chronologies have been developed worldwide that combined cover much of the Holocene, the most recent geological epoch. This global tree-ring network can be used to study climate history, forest history, and human history, as well as their interactions. As such, dendrochronology sits at the policy-relevant nexus of climate systems, ecosystems, and human systems.
In her inaugural lecture, Prof. Valerie Trouet will discuss how her research contributes to and builds on the global tree-ring network to study past climate variability and to put recent anthropogenic climate change in a long-term context. She will show how her research has focused not only on past mean climate, but also on climate extremes - such as drought, hurricanes, and wildfires - and climate dynamical patterns, such as the jet stream. She will also outline the research she plans to develop at VUB and how it can improve our understanding of the exceptional climate and ecosystem conditions we face today.
About Valerie Trouet
Prof. Valerie Trouet is an internationally renowned paleoclimate scientist and one of the world's leading experts in dendrochronology. For more than two decades, she has used tree rings to reconstruct the climate of the past 2,000 years and investigate its influence on ecosystems and human history. Her work covers phenomena including drought, hurricanes, wildfires, snowpack and the jet stream.
She is a professor at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona and, since 2026, is also affiliated with VUB's Department of Water and Climate, where she holds a Helios Foundation Chair. She has published more than 100 scientific papers, including in Nature and Science, and is the author of the popular science book Tree Story
About Helios Foundation
With support from the Helios Foundation, VUB is welcoming four outstanding researchers whose work spans climate, sustainability and well-being. All four have built significant parts of their careers in the United States. The initiative enables them to continue and develop research in collaboration with VUB, strengthening international scientific cooperation and VUB's expertise in these fields. Valerie Trouet is one of the four researchers, and this lecture inaugurates her Chair at VUB.
The world needs you
This initiative is part of VUB's public programme, a programme for everyone who believes that scientific knowledge, critical thinking and dialogue are an important first step to create impact in the world.
As an Urban Engaged University, VUB aims to be a driver of change in the world. With our academic edcuational programmes and innovative research, we contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and to making a difference locally and globally.