Within the field of astronomy, understanding how galaxies grow and evolve from the Big Bang to the present day is a challenging and complex question.

Promotor: A. Doelman, Co-promotor: M.F.E. de Jeu

His Leiden honorary doctorate, the future of scientists, and diversity in science. Robbert Dijkgraaf tells about it in one of the classical rooms of the Academy Building. ‘It's very special, my honorary doctorate. A rare homage.’

Lecture

Your time at Leiden is about more than just studying. Some of your best experiences will stem from being a part of our lively and diverse student community, as well as from life in the beautiful city of Leiden.

Advanced sensing techniques require graphene with high quality and well-controlled surface chemistry.

An all-optical transistor, a molecule-sized sensor and a new kind of single-photon source for quantum communication. All dreamed applications of fundamental physics that are one step closer thanks to Robert Smit. On 12 June, he defended his PhD thesis with distinction.

If you could convert CO2 into building blocks for other molecules with the help of electricity, you could make the chemical industry considerably more sustainable. Leiden chemists have unravelled a fundamental part of this process and applied this knowledge in a real device, as they write in Nature…

Making the most vibration-free, cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope in the world. A bold mission, but one that PhD candidate Irene Battisti successfully executed together with the Fine Mechanical Department. The new microscope might shed light on how unconventional superconductivity works. PhD Defence…

Despite the rain and awful weather, the painting job has been finished within a week. The Van der Waals-state equation is the eighth Leiden wall formula.

Working for a top faculty? Discover the vacancies at the Faculty of Science and apply immediately.

From the largest numbers to the smallest molecules and from the oldest galaxies up to the latest algorithms, explore our standout discoveries and most inspiring collaborations from the past year!

In the project ‘Coin production in the Low Countries: 1334-1789’, Leiden University, the International Institute of Social History, and Het Nederlands Economisch-Historisch Archief, team up to create a website that provides access to five centuries of coin production figures.

A recently published article, Productveiligheid en aansprakelijkheid voor AI (Product Safety and Liability for AI), by Gitta Veldt and Tycho de Graaf examines the European Commission’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Regulation.

NWO has assigned Physics Vrije Programma grants to five collaborations of physicists. Leiden University is involved in three of them.

Plants are colonized by an astounding number of microorganisms that can provide different life-support functions, including nutrient acquisition and protection against (a)biotic stresses like drought or pathogen attack.

The 2018 Physics Nobel Prize is awarded to Arthur Ashkin, Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou for their research on optical tweezers based on lasers. Leiden physicists comment in the following media.

Hydrogen can help to solve the climate problem. At least, if we start producing it in the right, clean way. Leiden researchers mapped out the global environmental impact of hydrogen production and looked ahead to 2050. They published their work in Energy & Environmental Science.

In a recent publication in Nature Sustainability, an international team led by Josephine Chambers from Wageningen University, and including Marja Spierenburg from the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology at Leiden University, have developed a practical tool for researchers and…

String theory has come under fire in recent years. Promises have been made that have not been lived up to. Leiden theoretical physicists have now for the first time used string theory to describe a physical phenomenon. Their discovery has been reported this week in 'Science'.

BRAIN Biotech and the Leiden University will jointly develop an Aspergillus based production strain with high yield and thus contribute to a bio-based circular economy. The cooperation is based on BRAIN´s molecular tool BEC.

Light reflects from a mirror, but where exactly does this reflection happen? Well, it depends, Martin van Exter and Corné Koks discovered. Their precise calculations, published in Optics Express, are important for designing optical cavities for quantum communication.

A team of researchers at the Institute of Biology Leiden, in collaboration with scientists from Utrecht University, has discovered a novel approach to improve the production of antibiotics and enzymes in the soil bacteria Streptomycetes.

Many important topics in computer science, such as the correctness of software, the efficiency of algorithms and the modeling of complicated systems, depend on sound theoretical underpinnings. In the Theory group, we study these fundamental building blocks and develop verification methods to prove system…

The programme guarantees a thorough experience on the frontlines of physics research AND data science. It focuses on research areas where these fields overlap and in the process provides practical training of communicative and computer skills.

The Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) is the coordinating partner in the Qluster research project, which was awarded a 2,9 million euro FET Open grant by the European Union. The three-year project, which started on 1 December 2019, aims to produce many photon entanglement to aid quantum communication…

Jan Zaanen, Professor in Theoretical Physics of condensed material, has been awarded a Spinoza prize. His pioneering ideas about the collective behaviour of quantum particles and high temperature superconductivity have often given him the reputation of being something of a rebel.

The production of history is a process of power. This is particularly relevant in Africa, where during both the colonial and the post-colonial era history has been written by hegemonic regimes. This historiography has in turn (re-)produced structures of domination, social exclusion and division.…

As of 1 June, Leiden University has appointed Sense Jan van der Molen as Professor Physics of Condensed matter. He investigates the unique electronic properties that arise when atomic thin layers are stacked on top of each other into new materials.

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Zaanen & Prof.dr. K.E. Schalm

A master's degree in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

The master's specialisation Applied Cognitive Psychology consists of three main parts: the mandatory and elective courses, a thesis and an internship.

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme is to dissect how microorganisms and microbiomes interact with the plant host and the insects on those plants, and how these insights may be harnessed to improve plant growth and health, by steering microbiome composition and…

This article examines how motivational signals in job advertisements relate to public employers’ recruitment success.

In this thesis, we use low-frequency and high-frequency radio observations to address the following questions regarding quasars: is the radio loud/quiet quasar dichotomy real?

A century ago, it was unclear whether the stars in the sky were clustered in groups, or widely spread in the universe.

The government is investing 646 million euros and has set aside a further 3.5 billion to drive economic growth in the Netherlands. Much of the National Growth Fund will be used for scientific innovations. Leiden University is involved in three of the projects.

What we buy and consume in Europe often has an impact on biodiversity somewhere else in the world. With a Horizon Europe Funding of 600.000 euros, assistant professor Laura Scherer and her team will develop models to look at the impact of global trade in non-food biomass. ‘After developing the models,…

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotores: M.F.E. de Jeu, B. de Pagter

Promotor: P.J.J. Hooykaas, Co-Promotor: E.J. van der Zaal

On this page you will find an overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2023, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

Can we make quantum devices from quantum surprises? And can we explore and build life from the nanoscale up?

Majorana fermions in superconductors are the subgap quasiparticle excitations that are their own antiparticles.