243 search results for “supermassive black holes” in the Staff website
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Special Guest Lecture ‘Knickerbocker Renaissance: Dutch Schools and Slavery in the Early United States’
Lecture, Histories Connected: Special Guest Lecture
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Book Landscapes of Survival sheds new light on the habitation of the Jordan deserts
December 2020 saw the crowning publication of the Landscapes of Survival project by Professor Peter Akkermans. Its main topic is human habitation in marginal environments like the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. ‘The people living here built their own society, and they would not have viewed it as…
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How to record with a video crew/in the studio
What do you need to record a knowledge clip in the studio? You can find below a checklist of the materials you need to bring to a studio recording. Keep in mind that this checklist depends on the kind of video you want to record. Always discuss the specifics for producing such a video with your video…
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Practical matters concerning the PhD ceremony
If you are granted permission to defend your thesis at Leiden University, please take into account the rules concerning the PhD ceremony. Below you find an overview of the practical matters.
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A look behind the scenes at the Leiden Science Family Day
More than 700 visitors got to know the Science Faculty during the Leiden Science Family Day. People of all ages could enjoy fascinating experiments, tours, interesting lectures, spectacular nitrogen shows and various workshops. It was an informative day with many (future) scientists, amazement and,…
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Vici grant for research on the formation of galaxies
How do galaxies form? That is what astronomer Mariska Kriek will be researching in the coming years. She received an NWO Vici grant of 1.5 million euros to study galaxies in the early universe. ‘This research uses new and unprecedented observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These allow…
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Slavery excuses: 'Cabinet created its own problem by rushing in'
The excuses for the slavery past? It would have been better if the cabinet had taken some more time on that, thinks university lecturer and Atlantic slavery expert Karwan Fatah-Black. 'Too bad they didn’t wait for the results of the study.'
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Entire examining committee can wear academic dress at PhD ceremonies
Organisation
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Leiden’s slavery past laid bare
The Mapping Slavery project will place markers that tell the story of Leiden’s slavery past. Why is this important and what does it mean for today’s society? Before the markers are placed, a panel came together on 24 March to discuss the slavery past of not only the city but the University too.
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No exams or lectures, but building a radio telescope with empty paint cans
No more lectures and exams for the Radio Astronomy course taught by Michiel Brentjens. The corona crisis is a moment of reflection that has changed his whole way of teaching. Instead of being in front of the class, he lets his students build a radio telescope with paint cans.
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In memoriam Jan Zaanen 1957-2024: The universe in a speck of rusting copper
This Thursday, January 18th 2024, our esteemed colleague Jan Zaanen passed away. Jan was one of our star scientists, larger than life, with an unabashed, boisterous drive for the best of physics at the Institute Lorentz, at the Leiden Institute of Physics and in the full international scientific community.…
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‘The COVID-19 crisis just goes to show how things can go wrong’
Ijeoma Uchegbu is Professor of Pharmacy at University College London (UCL). As a female scientist of colour, she was initially reluctant to play an active role in the university’s diversity policy. Until, that is, she had a radical change of heart: ‘I knew it; I had to become an evangelist.'
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Critical Caribbean Thought on Colonial Legacies
The Caribbean as we know it today is fundamentally a product of colonial activity and globalisation. Practically everyone that inhabits the Caribbean has ancestors from different continents due to colonial activity, which profoundly affects the area to this day. Caribbean writers, both in the Caribbean…
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Stabbing at Albert Heijn - Turfmarkt in The Hague
Organisation
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Emma van der Vos in Trouw on domestic workers’ right to unemployment benefit
Due to an exception in the law, domestic workers employed by private persons cannot automatially benefit from social security schemes. Home help Carol Kollmann did not agree with this and took her case to court.
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Access to Africa Commons (until 17 July)
Library
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A quirky block of rubber as a calculator
PhD candidate Jiangnan Ding explores how you can design a thick slab of rubber in a way that it might act as a mechanical computer bit. This so-called mechanical metamaterial is pushed in a specific way to change its shape. ‘With a very simple material, we might be able to do simple calculations in…
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A quick call with Margaret Gold about citizen science
April is the month of showers and tulip fields but did you know that it is also Global Citizen Science Month? And the future of our Leiden citizen science community looks rosy, says coordinator Margaret Gold. She is happy to come and tell you all about this − and to exchange knowledge and ideas. ‘See…
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X-ray mirrors: useful in space, but also for radiation therapy
A special type of mirror to reflect X-rays has more possible applications than space research. Targeted radiation therapy for cancer, for example. Next to his full-time job, physicist David Girou mapped out the possibilities. He will receive his PhD on 14 June.
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Gaia data maps globular cluster, gravitational lensing and asteroids with great precision
The European Space Agency (ESA) has published an interim data release from Gaia, the space telescope mapping out the Milky Way in 3D. The first scientific papers published today reveal half a million stars in the Omega Centauri globular cluster, nearly 400 candidate gravitational lensers and the positions…
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Jasper's day
Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing? What kinds of things is he doing and what does his day look like? In each newsletter Jasper gives a peek into his life as dean.
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FLAMINGO: dark matter, ordinary matter, and neutrinos in the biggest cosmological simulation ever
Not only dark matter, but also ordinary matter and dark energy are tracked in the largest ever cosmological computer simulation ever. In the FLAMINGO simulations, you can see virtual galaxies and clusters of galaxies emerging over the course of billions of years. This is no easy task: with more than…
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Got a question about science? Ask Leiden!
Due to its success, the Leiden2022 Q&A has been extended and is looking for even more thought-provoking, interesting or unusual questions.
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Ewine van Dishoeck after pontifical appointment: ‘Science and religion can coexist’
Pope Francis has appointed astronomer Ewine van Dishoeck to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. She joins an illustrious list of Nobel Prize winners, such as Ernest Rutherford, Max Planck, Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger. What is her view on this? An interview with our professor of Molecular astrop…
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Turn uneasiness about reductions to skin colour and gender into productivity in the fight against racism and sexism
Cultural Anthropologist Jasmijn Rana argues in the opinion piece ''Black', 'white', or 'of colour' is not about purity' in the Leiden University Weekly Mare to use uneasiness about being reduced to skin colour and gender to fight racism.
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Radboud University and Leiden University research ethnic profiling
A research team from Radboud University and Leiden University, led by senior researchers Prof. Masja van Meeteren (RU/UL), Dr Paul Mutsaers (RU) and Prof. Maartje van der Woude (UL), will examine what national and international research has really found about ethnic profiling by the police.
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‘All students want to be seen and heard’
A safe place to discuss burning social issues such as racism with each other. The student workspace Space to Talk About Race and the Afro Student Association both meet this need and also organise many other activities. Three board members explain why this is necessary.
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Do you buy your partner chocolates and roses? Fascination for American holidays explained
Buying chocolates as a sign of love, getting the best deals on Black Friday and putting on a spooky costume for Halloween. In recent years, these holidays and traditions have taken off in the Netherlands, even though they originated on the other side of the ocean. Why are we so excited about American…
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Podcast: Urban Life in Catalonia in the 14th Century with Jeff Fynn-Paul
Most of us know that Venice, Genoa, and Florence were major Mediterranean powers during the Renaissance. But did you know that in terms of trade and sea power, Barcelona was probably more powerful than two of these three?
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Kirsten Barink, Milène van der Geest, Claire van den Helder and Pim Ruhe granted with Speckmann Award 2021
Bachelor's students Kirsten S. Barink, Milène van der Geest, Claire van den Helder and Pim L. Ruhe are granted the Speckmann award for their Fieldwork NL report 'If it would have been a colour it would be pitch-black', a report on people suffering from the phenomenon of 'Electrohypersensitivity'.
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International astronomers come to the aid of secluded Cuban scientists
An international collaboration of astronomers is organising a special online lecture series for physicists and astronomers in Cuba. The reason for this is the tightening of measures against this country, as a result of which researchers can hardly get any information from outside the island. ‘Everyone…
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Requesting facilities for working from home
If you work at home on a structural basis – at least one day a week – and you have an employment contract for 19 hours or more, you can request facilities for working from home
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Diversity symposium 2021: small steps can increase inclusion
‘Culture change takes time,’ said Vice-Rector Hester Bijl at the closing panel of the University’s Diversity Symposium on 26 January. She talked about the road to a diverse and inclusive university. The symposium provided plenty of concrete examples of small steps that can already be taken.
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Astronomy through a pinhole
You can make some astounding images using just a box with a hole. Inspired by the celebration of Leiden as the European City of Science, Professor Matthew Kenworthy left several pinhole cameras across the Observatory over the course of 2021. This is how the simplest devices may uncover the greatest…
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Rachel Doherty wins LION Image Award with famed Microboat image
The annual LION Image award goes to the 30 micrometer long 3D printed microboat image that went viral earlier in October 2020, submitted by Rachel Doherty of the Daniela Kraft lab.
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LION Image Awards
On 15 January, the winner of the famed LION Image Award will be announced. Submissions ranged from the famous 3d printed microboat to an eerily abstract graph depicting a Majorana fermion.
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Verifying the correctness of mathematical theorems with a computer
How correct are mathematical theorems? And is all the theory around them correct? To find out, mathematics student Dominique Lawson converted a mathematical theorem into computer language. ‘This allows a computer to understand the theorem and check whether the proof behind it is entirely correct.’ The…
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Back to university: ‘A bit apprehensive but mostly pleased’
After almost 18 months of following lectures alone in their rooms, many students are going back to face-to-face classes for the first time. And the same is true for the lecturers. How do people feel about it? We went to Leiden Law School to find out. ‘For a whole year, I’ve been watching lectures in…
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Developing drugs with artificial intelligence
Developing new drugs is a difficult process. With the aid of artificial intelligence, Pharmaceutical scientist Xuhan Liu has developed methods that can help make drug design cheaper and faster. PhD defence on 15 February.
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Winner Africa Thesis Award 2023: Rachel Dubale
The winner of the Africa Thesis Award 2023 is Rachel Dubale, a graduate from the Research Master in African Studies at Leiden University, with her thesis “They think we can eat the condominium”. Chronicles of Economic, Social and Political Practices in Addis Ababa’s Condominiums.
- BillieCup duurzaam afvalvermindering
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Eveline Crone new Corresponding Fellow of The British Academy
The British Academy appointed Eveline Crone as a Corresponding Fellow to recognise her contribution to the SHAPE themes - the social sciences, humanities and the arts. The British Academy is the national academy for social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom. Besides Crone, 83 other Fellows…
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NRC on Federica Casano’s research into European tax havens
In Europe, citizens have a right of access to government information. The European Commission, however, has various methods to prevent this. For example, destroying all e-mails, invoking state security and protection of privacy, and not taking minutes. As a result, it is almost impossible to review…
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Thuiszorghulp voortaan recht op sociale zekerheidsregelingen: 'Baanbrekend'
De rechtbank van Rotterdam geeft zorghulp Carol Kollmann gelijk in haar rechtszaak tegen het UWV. De zorghulpverlener vond dat ze recht heeft op een WW-uitkering en het meetellen van haar arbeidsverleden voor de WW, nadat ze erachter kwam dat ze daar door de zogeheten Regeling dienstverlening aan huis…
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Stéphanie Noach receives a Fulbright grant
Stéphanie Noach, PhD within LUCAS, received a Fulbright grant to conduct research for her PhD project 'Dark Matters. Recasting Darkness with Contemporary Latin American Art' at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University.
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L.A.S. Terra Gala for staff and students on March 6
Social
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‘Colourblind parenting is a myth’
We should mention differences in skin colour to our children because only then can we talk openly about prejudice and racism – and how to prevent them. This is what Professor Judi Mesman says in her book ‘Opgroeien in kleur’ (Growing up in Colour), which offers advice to parents. ‘Why is there only…
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How do you help a child suffering from depression?
What causes depression in a child and how can they get over it? Leiden Professor of Psychology Bernet Elzinga and behavioural scientist Carine Kielstra recently hosted a webinar on the subject of depression in teenagers. The level of interest was overwhelming.
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Luuk van Middelaar in European newspapers on Europe’s response to war in Ukraine
In an essay published in three prominent European newspapers, Professor Luuk van Middelaar takes a close look at Europe’s role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ‘Europe shows plenty of political energy, but what is still lacking is strategic cool-headedness, in facing a nuclear power.’
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Jan Vleggeert: Reservations about reduction in tax avoidance via the Netherlands
The Dutch Ministry of Finance says that new rules have significantly reduced tax avoidance via 'transit country' the Netherlands. Jan Vleggeert, Professor of Tax Law, has voiced his reservations about this claim in the media.