Former PhD, Bachelor and Master students of the Van Exter Lab

The oldest forms of literature and law originate from Mesopotamia (3000 BC until AD 70), as do important discoveries in science and technology. All these developments were recorded in cuneiform texts on clay tablets. There is still a lot to learn from the study of cuneiform texts, says Professor of…

A consortium of international researchers comes with a unique solution to the energy problem. By mimicking photosynthesis, they aim to produce sustainable fuels out of sunlight, water, and CO2. Their secret? ‘Soap bubbles’, says Leiden chemist Sylvestre Bonnet, who is part of the consortium.

Can we identify different degrees of economic integration, both within and between regions, on the basis of archaeological proxies?

Assessing the effects of landscape and land-use changes on the visibility of archaeological landscapes in Central-Southern Italy.

Promotor: E.R. Eliel, Co-Promotor: M.J.A. de Dood

Promotor: Prof.dr. P. Stevenhagen, Co-promotor: Prof. dr. B. de Smit

In this thesis we study the landscape of gravitational models which modify GR by introducing an additional scalar degree of freedom (d.o.f.) to source Cosmic Acceleration.

On 4 June 2018, students of the Forensic Speech Science master’s course visited the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) in The Hague. They were presented with practical examples, such as speech research with voice recordings of suspects. Forensic phonetics is a young, rapidly developing discipline…

As environmental and ecological changes and their impact become more urgent, demand for Industrial Ecology experts is rising. More and more national and international companies, local and national governments and NGOs are interested in our alumni, who possess the interdisciplinary perspective and skill…

The renovation of the Herta Mohr building (formerly known as Cluster Zuid) is completed. It is the third project in the redevelopment of the Humanities Campus. With the renewal of these buildings, the university ensures a sustainable campus with modern facilities. The university wants to create an attractive…

Metal-containing molecules combine geometrical features and a reactivity that are inherently different from that of organic molecules. My research focuses on light-activatable metal-based anticancer drugs and metal-functionalized liposomes. Light is a very selective way to activate photosensitive drugs…

We would like to present to you a simple guidebook about living a sustainable life as a student in the cities of Leiden and The Hague. Whether you are a first-year student still trying to find your way around or already doing your masters – students wanting to explore more sustainable options and save…

Plants could be regarded as small chemical factories, which produce chemical substances via photosynthesis. If we can imitate photosynthesis in an artificial system, we can make clean fuels and materials out of sunlight and CO2. Huub de Groot is very close to designing a system of this kind.

This project aims to integrate three of the largest survey databases in the Mediterranean to study the impact of the megalopolis Rome on its direct hinterland.

This thesis studies the geometry of representation varieties and character stacks. These are spaces parametrizing the representations of a finitely generated group, typically the fundamental group of a compact manifold, into an algebraic group G.

This thesis explores how electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy can be used to investigate key biochemical processes.

At Leiden Observatory, researchers investigate the origin of stars and their planetary systems. They detect and characterize planets around other stars, which are called exo-planets. They study how stars and planets form. And they follow molecules from interstellar clouds to nascent planet systems.…

During the Leiden Science Family Day, you can take part in various workshops. You can also watch various demonstrations. Where will you go?

Research at the MCBIM group is comprised of the following research themes:

Artificial photosynthesis aims to produce fuels from solar energy using chemical processes. In semi-artificial photosynthesis, a hybrid approach is taken using both chemical and biotechnology components. We are developing hybrid systems, coupling light-harvesting nanoparticles to redox-enzymes (oxidoreductases)…

On this page, you will find the recordings of the Tuesday Talks since April 2025. Recordings of the precursor to the Tuesday Talks, This Week’s Discoveries, are also available here.

In February 2026, Leiden University’s new Sport Centre opened on a prominent new site directly on the Campusplein. Its relocation brings sport visibly into the heart of campus life, with the outdoor fields seamlessly connected to the building. Substantially larger than its predecessor, the centre offers…

The renovation of the Aleida Nijland building (previously Matthias de Vrieshof) is the fourth project in the development of the Humanities Campus. Renovating these buildings will enable the university to provide a sustainable Campus with modern facilities and an attractive educational environment that…

Promotor: Peter Stevenhagen

This thesis contributes to studying primordial cosmology theories and their detectability in future observations.

On 24-25 October 2017, the Council of Europe organized an international conference to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention).

In accordance with the present travel advice issued by Leiden University and KU Leuven concerning student mobility abroad, it is highly unlikely that the ‘Egyptology in the Field’ programme will be able to take place as normal in Egypt during the 2020-2021 academic year

This project aims to contribute to the improvement of documentation and archiving standards (conform the FAIR principles) for systematic Mediterranean archaeological field survey.

This book presents a comprehensive description of the grammar of Logba, one of the fourteen Ghana-Togo Mountain (GTM) languages spoken by approximately 7,500 speakers on the South-Eastern frontier of the Ghana-Togo border. It is the outcome of fifteen months research in Logba speaking communities.

This five year research project aimed to investigate the role of minor central places in the economy of Roman Central Italy.

New housing in old labs and striking architecture for University buildings and high-tech companies, not to mention waterside parks. An exhibition in Oude UB shows the radical changes that are in store for the Leiden Bio Science Park over the coming years.

On Friday afternoon, 15 November 2024, the conference Corporate Responsibility: Current Issues in the Field of Fundamental Rights & Sustainability will take place.

Born in Hungary and moved to Austria, András Bárány grew up bi-lingual. It undoubtedly ignited his interest in languages. In Leiden, he now researches ditransitive constructions in over a hundred languages, this way taking another step in untangling some basics of human language.

This project aims to explore the environmental impact of early Roman expansion (4th/3rd century BC) through a program of dating and ecological sampling of traces of field systems (centuriations).

The Leiden Observatory is starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to construct a new telescope.

Professor of Ecotoxicology Martina Vijver had planned an eight-week field work course for her students, but the corona virus threw a spanner in the works and Vijver had to come up with a new plan at short notice. ‘Without the help of my own network and that of my colleagues this would have been very…

Promotor: S.J. Edixhoven

On 13-14 October, Dr. Joris Larik, Assistant Professor for Comparative, EU, and International Law at LUC, took part in the Duke-Pretoria Conference on Comparative Foreign Relations Law. During these two days in the South African capital, draft chapters for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Comparative…

What should policymakers and politicians do to prevent violent extremism? What are the greatest risks posed by the radical left and right? How do ideological media publications that terrorists assemble before attacks, may help to counter extremist narratives? About 30 professionals from all over the…

On 29 and 30 June 2018, a book workshop on the subject of general principles was held in Leicester, UK.

All kinds of reasons have been put forward for why plants apparently fail to make maximum use of the available light. None of these reasons can explain why after two billion years of evolution they are not black, like industrial photovoltaic solar cells. Are we missing something?

Single-molecule spectroscopy has become a powerful method for using organic fluorescent molecules in numerous applications.

One day you feel inspired by a field trip, the next you are a speaker at TEDxLeidenUniversity. It happened to International Relations student Alexia. How did she end up on stage – and why did she want to? Alexia shares her story with us. ‘I was given hope, and I wanted to share it with others.’

Promotoren: R. Tijdeman, A.K. Lenstra, Co-promotor: H.J.J. te Riele

At Leiden Observatory, researchers investigate the origin of stars and their planetary systems. They detect and characterize planets around other stars (exoplanets). They study how stars and planets form. And they follow molecules from interstellar clouds to nascent planet systems. This way they address…

The energy transition is a complex transformation process that is not only about technology -moving towards renewable energy sources-, but even more so about societal and institutional change. The energy transition requires and provides opportunities for actors to take on new roles.