Welcome to the Hensen Lab! We are a young dynamic experimental research group starting at the Leiden Institute of Physics. Our lab addresses one of the key challenges of modern physics: understanding the interface between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Researchers of the National University of Singapore and Leiden University have discovered that chimpanzees and bonobos share the contrasting colour pattern seen in human eyes, which makes it easy for them to detect the direction of someone’s gaze from a distance.

Improvements of weak gravitational lensing shape measurements are presented and some used for data analysis.

Astronomers led by Simon Portegies Zwart used simulations to reconstruct how three stars were ejected from the star cluster R136, 60,000 years ago. The analysis reveals that five stars were involved in the event in the Tarantula Nebula.

This thesis is dedicated to the exploration of the primordial dark ages: unknown physics during the earliest stages of the Universe’s expansion that have not yet been directly probed by observations. Cosmic inflation is a burst of exponential expansion of space after the “Big Bang”.

PhD defence

Leiden Observatory is going to use a new technique to carry out calculations on gravitational lensing measurements. They will do this is the context of research into the formation of elliptical galaxies. Alessandro Sonnenfeld (University of Tokyo) who developed this technique joined the research team…

One of the tasks of Leiden University Libraries is to manage academic heritage, including letters and scholarly archives of leading researchers. Much of this material is nowadays created digitally and email is one of the main forms of communication. Hence, the UBL launched a pilot for acquiring and…

How can Agile methods improve the quality of project management in IT organizations? Acquire the knowledge necessary to lead an enterprise agile transformation by applying the Scaled Agile Framework, and its underlying principles of lean thinking, and product development flow. This course is organised…

We are cosmologists, in other words we use physics to study the Universe, how it started and evolved into the structure that we observe around us.

PhD defence

Ninety young researchers who recently obtained a doctorate can apply for a post-doc position in the LEaDing Fellows Postdocs Programme from 1 February.

Ninety young researchers who recently obtained a doctorate can apply for a post-doc position in the LEaDing Fellows Postdocs Programme from 1 November. The programme foresees in three Calls, of which the first one was recently completed with the selection of 20 persons. Seven of them will start working…

The dental remains of 25 enslaved Africans from the site of Newton's Plantation, on Barbados, were subjected to isotope analysis. Previous research had pointed out that the locally born individuals were subjected to high concentrations of lead poisoning. A new study, done by Dr Jason Laffoon among others…

Do we break the silences in our research participants’ stories? When is it ethical to write and not write about what remains unspoken in the social worlds we study? And when we encounter silences, how do we document them? These were just some of the many questions discussed during the vivid and inspiring…

How do you detect people at high risk of heart attacks and strokes? And how can we improve the treatment of atherosclerosis? These are the questions that keep LACDR researcher Marie Depuydt busy. She is investigating the immune cells that contribute to the worsening of atherosclerosis. ‘It's a challenging…

This year, Leiden University is organising the 34th Award Ceremony of the World Cultural Council (WCC). Who will be the prize winners this year?

The Executive Board is delighted to announce that Joanne van der Leun took up the position of the university’s Academic Lead International Affairs as of 1 January 2025.

These are the proposed research projects for LEAPS 2019. Please note that not all projects will go ahead and some may still be added in the near future. Final funding decisions lie with the Faculty sponsors. And please make a note that if you are interested in an ESA project, to check if your state…

Top scientists of three Dutch universities are working on software and systems for quantum computers. Researchers of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) and the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) are developing new algorithms to make those super computers work. The coming years,…

Adults are more likely to reoffend after a short prison sentence than comparable adults with a non-custodial sentence, Leiden University research shows. This is true for the likelihood and extent of repeat crime.

Promotor: Jelle S. Kaastra Co-promotor: Jelle de Plaa

This thesis is a (biased) journey through very different topics in astrophysics: quasars and new populations of active galactic nuclei, gravitational waves from merging black holes, and protoplanetary discs around young stars.

Zaanen

In this provocative study, Shumon T. Hussain engages with the long-standing issue of French-Anglophone research conflicts in Palaeolithic archaeology.

The radio sky harbours both galactic and extragalactic sources of arcminute- to degree-scale emission of various physical origins. To discover extragalactic diffuse emission in the Cosmic Web beyond galaxy clusters, one must image low–surface brightness structures amidst a sea of brighter compact fore-…

My work is motivated by the necessity to extend Standard Model of Particle Physics in order to explain three observed phenomena that this great theory fails to accommodate

The focus of the dissertation

The high velocity tail of the total velocity distribution of stars provides essential insight into fundamental properties of the Galaxy.

The main goal of the THEOR CHEM group, headed by Prof. Geert-Jan Kroes, is to characterize, and to accurately predict the outcome of chemical reactions at gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces. Here the solid surface is typically a metal or an ice surface. These goals are important to many areas in…

No evidence found that increasing migration leads to an increase in politically and ideologically motivated criminality. Migration flows have, however resulted in increased polarisation in the Netherlands.

The Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) received a grant from the EU Erasmus+ strategic partnership fund to lead a European Network on European Teaching Excellence (E-Note).

PhD defence

How can you persuade researchers who are used to conducting research within clearly defined disciplines to adopt an interdisciplinary approach? Newly appointed distinguished professor Arnold Tukker explained.

Screening documentary

The European Research council (ERC) was founded ten years ago today. The ERC is an important agency for research funding, including to Leiden University.

Aileen Schuurmans finished her MA International Relations this summer. She wrote an article titled 'How to Change the Story of the Pandemic with Daoist IR', which got published on E-International Relations, the world’s leading open access website for students and scholars of international politics.

We are a dynamic research group at the Leiden Institute of Physics. Our aim is to explore and understand quantum materials, including strange metals, high-temperature superconductors, and quantum critical electron matter.

Rossi

Our mission is to advance the understanding of mental health of individuals with a history of stress and/or trauma through rigorous interdisciplinary research, integrating insights from clinical psychology, neurobiology, and social sciences. We are committed to translating our findings into innovative…

A group of experts on ancient Greek religious practices has joined forces in the form of the HIERON network. In a grassroots fashion, they decided to host frequent get-togethers in order to share experiences, research ideas, and interdisciplinary views. Leiden archaeologist Michael Kerschner was one…

Leiden researchers have found minute movements in the laccase enzyme. This discovery could lead to the development of much more efficient biofuel cells. Publication in Biophysical Journal.

According to the LUMC, patients experience 30% fewer serious side effects when medication doses are tailored to their DNA.

The Dutch Black Holes Consortium receives 4.9 million euros from NWO for unravelling the mysteries of black holes and other mysteries of the universe. The Astronomy and Society group at Leiden Observatory is affiliated to use the leading research to introduce people of all ages and background, and children…

On Thursday, the 4th of November 2010, a joint celebration took place in the Great Hall of the Gorleaus Laboratoria of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University on the occasion of the 65th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia on invitation by H.E. Dr. Umar Hadi, Vice-Ambassador…

On November 18, 2014, Prof.Dr. I Pallikaris, Prof.Dr. C. Lionis and Prof.Dr. A. Philalithis undertook a visit to the LEAD Programme in order to attend a meeting during which the objective to join the International Consortium on Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Development of Mountain Communities (IKS&DMC)…

Spitting cobra venom composition has been influenced by defensive behaviour according to an international research team. This may have originated from the arrival of human ancestors. Students at the Institute of Biology Leiden made an important contribution to the study. Publication in Science on 22…

Boys with autism are more prone to develop physical complaints, depression and aggressive behaviour. Psychologists at Leiden University have discovered that this is mainly related to rumination. Publication in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

In all the 444 years since Leiden University was founded, almost nothing has been written about women at the University. That's why a group of 25 female students have prepared the exhibition Herstory: Leiden's Leading Ladies. University history through women's eyes. Now open to the public in the Oude…