A common assumption in chemistry is that the coordination number of a catalyst's surface determines the reactivity of the reaction it catalyses. Strikingly, Leiden chemists have now proven that this is not true for nature’s most simple chemical reaction: the dissociation of hydrogen. The researchers…

During the coronavirus pandemic, scientists were in a hurry to find drugs that would help fight the disease. To combine the research that was being carried out around the world, PhD candidate Judith ter Schure developed a new statistical method: ALL-IN meta-analysis. This helps determine sooner whether…

Organ transplantation is often subject to ethical, economic and political discussions. In the Honours Class Organ Transplantation, students take part in these discussions to get a better understanding of the many different views on transplantation.

After two years in the Faculty Board, Student Assessor Zoë van Litsenburg makes room for a successor per September 1, 2022. Let’s meet the new Student Assessor Imen el Idrissi. ‘I want to focus on the communication between the Faculty and the students.’

What if you could watch a CT scan live, instead of analysing the images afterwards? If it is up to the Leiden mathematician Jan-Willem Buurlage, that will soon be a reality. He is developing methods to make the algorithms behind 3D scans faster. Quite a challenge: ‘Just like mathematicians, computers…

From 1 January 2017 Jojanneke van der Toorn will be the first holder of the Workplace Pride special chair, with a focus on the inclusion of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). This new chair is a joint initiative of the Workplace Pride Foundation, Leiden University, and the…

Scientists regularly appear in the media. They participate in science cafés, write a popular-science book or visit school classes. In that way, they want to convey their knowledge and enthusiasm to society. But do they succeed? To answer that question, a new website is launched, with a toolbox full…

On February 1st Cristina Grasseni started as Professor of Anthropology at the Institute for Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. She is bringing the ERC Consolidator project ‘Food Citizens?’ with her to Leiden. A few questions to get to know the new professor.

How are people of color represented in art collections? And do young people of color feel that museum collections reflect their norms and values? Developmental psychologist Carolien Rieffe is invited to serve on the Expert Group ‘Musea bekennen kleur’ because of her knowledge of children and young p…

With their thesis research, Master’s students from Leiden, Rotterdam and Delft help solve real-world problems in The Hague Southwest. That is the aim of the Thesis Project. We spoke to two students who are participating in the project.

For the first time, an international team of scientists led by Leiden Observatory and SRON can explain the extreme jet streams observed around the equators of all the giant planets using a single model.

The latest innovation in the field of urban mobility could soon be buzzing over our heads. For some, it’s a science fiction dream come true. For others, however, it’s an unwelcome intrusion. ‘It has the potential to be a major development.’

There’s a change of staff at ACPA. The institute is bidding farewell to Professor Janneke Wesseling and welcomes Anke Haarmann, who is not only a new professor, but will also take over Wesseling's responsibilities as Director of PhD Arts. In this interview we look back and ahead with them.

Leiden University and four other Dutch universities will appoint 51 PhD candidates to conduct solution-oriented research for and with the African continent.

Conference

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will head a delegation that is visiting Indonesia at the end of June. The visit is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘Leiden’ institute KITLV-Jakarta. What does this institute do and why is Indonesia important to the University?

During the New Year's Reception at FSW, new Dean Sarah de Rijcke gave her maiden speech. The first official moment at which she's able to share what she stands for and what to expect of her. In case you weren't there, or you want to read the speech at your own pace, below you can find the integral copy…

In September 2023 the new minor Sustainability, Climate Change and Food starts. This minor critically examines the complexities of food sustainability through ecological, socio-economic, political, and cultural systems.

The annual New Year Lecture for Honours College Law took place on Friday 17 January. This year’s speaker was Barbara Zwirs, author and former assistant professor in criminology at Leiden Law School. Her lecture got 2025 off to an inspiring start.

A live online New Year’s event on Tuesday 12 January marked the start of the New Year. Dean Joanne van der Leun toasted 2021 and as usual at this event, the annual Meijers prizes and thesis prizes were awarded.

A more efficient solar panel sounds great. But what if these new panels consume more toxic materials, or their production consumes a lot of energy? Leiden environmental scientists, together with colleagues from the Fraunhofer ISE, address this multifaceted question in a new publication in the prestigious…

Leiden University has set up two committees to consider issues that are the focus of much attention within our community and society at large. They are the Knowledge Security Committee and the Fossil Fuel Industry Collaboration Committee. Former dean Joanne van der Leun will chair both.

In this Educatips collumns, Child and Education Studies lecturers share their key insights about teaching. This month: Rachel Plak and Karlijn Pieterse wanted to better prepare students in the course Autism and Diagnostics for clinical practice. That's why they introduced a new type of assignment.

As of 1 December 2024, Uta Wehn is professor by special appointment of the chair 'Citizen Science and Sustainability' within the Focal Area Engagement and Inclusion at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. The new chair has been established jointly by CWTS and IHE…

The European Commission adopted a proposal regarding common rules promoting the right to repair for consumers.

Dutch researchers have developed a new tool to label DNA for studying chromosomes in live cells. The tool is non-invasive and can be applied in culture but also in living organisms, such as zebrafish embryos. The team published their findings in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

On 28 December 2019, Dutch newspaper Trouw published an essay by Constant Hijzen, Assistant Professor Intelligence Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs and the Institute for History. In the essay, he discusses two books on a new genre of espionage: the authors provide access into…

A year ago, assistant professor Paz Gonzalez received a Comenius grant to start an academic journal for and by students. Now the first double issue of The New Scholar is a reality. ‘We want to show the faculty’s diversity.’

‘It truly is a plan by and for us all,’ said Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board, at the Dies Natalis celebration on 8 February. Leiden Law School was also actively involved developing in the strategic plan.

The documentary invites us to consider the question of what we consider valuable knowledge. “We need to realise that doing and thinking are intertwined in ways we did not comprehend before” argues Maikel Kuijpers, archaeologist and the producer of the documentary. “This will have consequences for the…

Gilles van Wezel of the Institute of Biology Leiden will lead a European consortium to search for new medicines and disease-suppressive microbes while preserving biodiversity. The consortium will explore the largely unknown potential of marine microorganisms.

Astronomers at Leiden University have detected rare isotopes of carbon and oxygen in our neighbouring stars for the first time, providing a new window to better understand the chemical evolution of the cosmos.The results are published today in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The new Ehrenfest multi-storey car park at the heart of the Leiden Bio Science Park was opened today by the Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board of Leiden University, Martijn Ridderbos. The car park, an initiative of the University, should improve accessibility and quality of life on the campus.

What is the best way for us as a society to deal with all the different forms of diversity? Professor Marlou Schrover will use the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) to explore this question with colleagues and the public.

Prof. Sarah de Rijcke will succeed Paul Wouters as dean of Leiden University's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSW) from 1 January 2024. Paul Wouters will retire at the beginning of January.

Leiden researchers, led by Sebastian Pomplun developed a new method to screen hundreds of thousands of molecules for drug discovery, using mass spectrometry instead of DNA tags. ‘We wanted to make drug discovery faster and more accessible.’

Lecture

Election Day is over, but it's by no means clear who the new President of the United States will be. On the morning after Election Day, US expert Sara Polak relects on the results that are in so far, and looks ahead to the coming days.

In Harper’s Magazine, reviewer Dan Piepenbring discusses the latest book by professor Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman. ‘Spycraft’ showcases how and why messages were ciphered in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England.

The KHMW (Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen) has decided to grant the Keetje Hodshon Prijs voor Taalwetenschappen to LUCL’s Jurriaan Witteman for his 2014 dissertation titled Towards a Cognitive Neuroscience of Prosody Perception and its Modulation by Alexithymia.

Nadine Akkerman recently appeared as a guest on a BBC podcast and the History Extra podcast to discuss her book Spycraft. In these interviews, she delved into the fascinating world of espionage, sharing insights from her research and highlighting key themes from her work.

University lecturers Pepita Hesselberth and Joost de Bloois (UvA) were interviewed in a Hermetix podcast about their co-edited book Politics of Withdrawal: Media, Arts, Theory.

Call for poster presentations: Future of Paleography, Paleography of the Future. 10 April 2025, Utrecht.

The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens announces the summer session focused on the study of Medieval Greek, from June 26 to July 27, 2023. The Library invites applications for a month-long Summer Session for Medieval Greek at the Intermediate to Advanced Level. The…

Russian writer and cardiologist Maxim Osipov will come to the Netherlands for a year to teach in Leiden about Russian literature, his own work and the political situation in Russian.

How is Leiden University doing in these times of corona, and what kind of new academic year can we expect? Rector Carel Stolker was interviewed by Dutch broadcasting companies Omroep West, Sleutelstad FM and JortCall.

On 30 November 2016, Cecily Rose participated in a Symposium held at the T.M.C. Asser Institute on 'A Court for the World? Trust in the ICJ 50 years after South West Africa'.

Lecture

Microsoft’s new software VALL-E only has to hear a voice for three seconds to be able to imitate it almost perfectly. You can choose which emotion the voice should use and what it should say. Valerie Frissen, Professor by special appointment of Digital Technology and Social Change at eLaw, and Director…

Tom Schreuder has been appointed as the new Business Director of Hortus botanicus Leiden. Schreuder succeeds Peter Inklaar, who held the position for four years. Schreuder currently works as a Commercial Manager at Keukenhof and brings a wealth of experience from that role. He will start his new position…