For many years, scientists have observed a correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and a surplus of iron in the brain. However, a causal link between the two has not been proven yet. We lack knowledge concerning the specific form of iron that is involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.…

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) announced on 25 April that it has appointed 18 new members. These include Leiden professors Andrew Webb and Jos Raaijmakers.

This weeks marks the 10th anniversary of the European Research Council. For the past decade, the council has contributed to many scientific projects all over Europe, including Leiden University. It has funded almost 7,000 researchers, leading to just short of 100,000 scientific articles. A total of…

Two Leiden University research consortia have received funding from the High Tech Systems and Materials programme (HTSM).

Met de val van Balkenende IV laait de discussie over het functioneren van politieke partijen binnen ons democratisch bestel weer op. Opgeblazen ego’s, overambitieuze politici en partijpolitieke machtspelletjes zouden echte democratie in de weg staan. Maar die discussie is niet nieuw.

We learned of the passing away of Nicolaas Bloembergen, Nobel Prize winner in Physics (1981) at the age of 97.

CML-researcher Rene Kleijn has spoken about metals scarcity in relation to the energy transition in a new Dutch popular scientific TV show called

Liquid nitrogen, frozen fruit and levitating market-goers. On Friday 8 April, visitors to the weekly market in the Merenwijk district were exposed to superconductivity. What is it exactly? And what does it look like? Young and old were impressed by the experiments demonstrated by Leiden students from…

On January 25th, artist Jonas Staal will defend his dissertation which explores the development of propaganda art from the 20th to the 21st century.

Research by Leiden University, LUMC and the Public Health Department (GGD Haaglanden) in The Hague has shown that over a quarter of the families in the city who took part in the survey experience some form of food insecurity. Some families have too little money to make a healthy meal or are worried…

Today is the general election in the Netherlands – although the polling stations have actually been open for two days already because of the coronavirus restrictions. Leiden researchers and students are involved in all manner of ways, and are analysing the campaigns and possible results.

On Tuesday 19 January 2016, dr. Nelleke Koffeman LL.M, assistant professor at the Europa Instituut of Leiden Law School, appeared as a guest on the radio show ‘Juridische Zaken’ (‘Legal Affairs’) for the Dutch national radio channel BNR Nieuwsradio to discuss the proposal by the Alliance of Liberals…

Professor Tom Lubensky from the University of Pennsylvania is visiting Leiden University as the 64th Lorentz Professor at the department of Theoretical Physics. He is a pioneer in the field of theoretical soft matter physics and winner of the prestigious Buckley Condensed Matter Prize. We spoke with…

Photosynthesis is the origin of life on earth, but it is a phenomenon that is still barely understood. Take, for example, the extremely efficient mechanism of electron transport. Leiden researchers demonstrate for the first time where one particular cause of this might be found.

With his ice-cold nano force sensor, Tjerk Oosterkamp searches for the boundary between the quantum world and the everyday world. The Leiden physicist has received an NWO subsidy of 600,000 euros.

The radio telescope LOFAR, with a major contribution from Leiden Observatory, has produced the most detailed radio map of the Universe ever made. Never before have so many cosmic radio sources been captured in a single survey: 13.7 million.

To what extent is the image of the Taino settlements on Hispaniola representative for the whole island, or is it only related to a few large settlements of known caciques?

The "Van Marum Colloquia" are a collaborative lecture series between the LION and LIC institutes, focusing on fundamental and applied surface science.

Paramagnetism. An obscure occult practice? No. It’s one of the newest scientific methods for mapping the behaviour of proteins with great precision. Marcellus Ubbink has been awarded 3 million euro by NWO and Leiden University to purchase a very powerful instrument. The goal: to acquire greater insight…

This year, two Leiden physicists have earned a prestigious ERC Starting Grant. With a budget of 1.5 million euros, this is one of the largest individual grants for scientists.

The Italian physicist Andrea Morello is one of the pioneers of the quantum revolution. He is currently doing research at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, but cherishes his time as a PhD candidate in Leiden.

The National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Facilities programme of NWO enables the building or renovation of research facilities with international allure. Leiden NMR groups take part in the uNMR-NL consortium coordinated by Marc Baldus (Utrecht University) that has been awarded almost 18 million…

Are Weyl particles the ideal conductors? Do cells without a cell wall play a role in chronic Tuberculosis infections? Carlo Beenakker and Dennis Claessen want to answer these questions. They both received a KLEIN grant from the NWO. With these grants, NWO wants to stimulate innovative, fundamental r…

Superconducting devices such as SQUIDS (Superconducting Quantum Interferometry Device) can perform ultra-sensitive measurements of magnetic fields. Leiden physicsts invented a method to 3D-print these and other superconducting devices in minutes.

Two students from the Leiden-Delft MSc Industrial Ecology programme have made a carbon footprint calculator for the website www.doemaarduurzaam.nl; the website where the Dutch public broadcasting organisations collect everything broadcasted about sustainability. The carbon footprint calculator allows…

The European Physical Society has awarded the prestigieus Edison Volta Prize to Leiden physicist Michel Orrit. The prize is handed out every two years to an individual or a group of at most three scientists as an acknowledgment of an outstanding achievement in physics research.

Jan Aarts, Leiden professor in experimental physics, has been appointed Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw. He received the royal distinction from the mayor of Leiden Henri Lenferink in the Hooglandse Kerk.

Postdoc Lucia Bossoni has received an NWO Veni grant to research brain diseases for the next three years. She will work in labs at both the LUMC and the Leiden physics institute.

In January 2014, the research project The Promise of Organization hosted a fruitful three-day conference:

The transition to new and renewable energy sources should be completed by 2050. Researchers in various disciplines at Leiden University are conducting unique research that will help us make this transition and reduce CO2 emissions.

Sinds september 2010 werken Geerten Waling en Anne Heyer in het NWO project ‘The Promise of Organization’.

Researchers from the Plant Ecology and Phytochemistry group at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) received an STW (Stichting Technologische Wetenschappen) grant for applied studies in plant herbivore resistance with potential for a novel resistance test.

Over a seven year period an international team of scientists has mapped more than a quarter of the northern sky using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a pan-European radio telescope. From Leiden, Astronomer Timothy Shimwell and Huub Röttgering, among others, are involved. It reveals an astonishingly…

One unravels the origin of the largest black holes in the universe, the other investigates the influence of stellar wind on the atmosphere of exoplanets. Both Elena Maria Rossi and Aline Vidotto receive a Vici grant for their research into the mysteries of the universe. ‘I have no idea yet how we can…

50 years ago Lauterbur published the basic principle of MRI. Sine then MRI has become more expensive. Professor Andrew Webb describes what is needed to make MRI available for everybody.

PhD student Willem Noteborn has investigated supramolecular structures. These can be useful for the loading of medicines and signalling molecules regarding, for example, cellular differentiation. In his thesis, he describes the functioning of these structures.

An international team of astronomers led by scientists from Leiden Observatory has for the first time characterised a dust disk surrounding a young super-Jupiter, which is either a giant planet or brown dwarf. They detected infrared emission from the disk which might indicate that moons may have formed.…

An overview of our exhibition catalogues and research monographs on the Middle Eastern collections.

The Netherlands eScience Center has announced to fund a new Path-Finding Project led by Dr. Dorothea Samtleben from the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION). This project aims to make the processing of detection signals more efficient for the KM3NeT neutrino telescope, which is currently under construction…

Physicists understand little about quantum matter, which is a building block of future quantum computers. Theorists have now discovered that black holes with ‘dreadlocks’ harbor a similarly exotic order pattern, which makes calculations on quantum matter easier. Publication in Physical Review Letter…

Researchers led by Professor of Chemistry Marcellus Ubbink have recently published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the dynamics of an important redox enzyme. This work was accomplished thanks to an NWO VICI subsidy granted to Professor Ubbink.

Professor Carlo Beenakker has been awarded a FOM Projectruimte subsidy to build a theoretical model of a majorana gun, a very promising instrument for quantum computers.

PhD student Thierry Rohmer received the Ernst Award 2009 of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) for his publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA on the structure-function relation of the photoreceptor phytochrome. The prize was presented at the Annual Discussion…

Special amplifying agents can make MRI scanners and NMR techniques hundreds of times more sensitive. Leiden physicists have now found a method to test their efficiency. More sensitive MRI scans could for example improve our understanding of cystic fibrosis or Parkinson’s disease. Publication in PCCP…

Unconventional superconductors form one of the big mysteries in physics. Among them is strontium ruthenate, which stands out as a controversial superconductor. During his PhD, Leiden physicist Kaveh Lahabi has provided new insights into the nature of superconductivity in this material, leading to a…

If computers work on superconducting current, they won’t consume any energy. Leiden physicists have now gained control over a new type of superconducting memory elements. Publication in Nature Communications.

The Leiden University Institute for History is responsible for the main part of the historical research carried out at Leiden University. The institute has a wide-ranging academic scope.

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.