Wat heb je aan fundamentele wetenschap? Veel, zo bewijzen de sprekers tijdens Science Matters. Dit symposium werd op 18 maart 2016 gehouden ter ere van het tweehonderd jarig bestaan van de Faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen.

This thesis focuses on the design and synthesis of activity-based probes and inhibitors targeting enzymes involved in the degradation of specific plant glycans.

Promotor: A. Achúcarro, Co-Promotor: G.A. Palma

Promotors: Prof.dr. E. Bouwman, Prof.dr. E. Drent

Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is responsible for light absorption and excitation energy transfer in plants and photosynthetic algae, while in high light it undergoes conformational changes by which it quenches excitations to prevent photodamage.

In this thesis, I studied the origin and evolution of the non-thermal radiation in merging galaxy clusters.

A plasma is an ionized gas with very low electrical resistivity. As such, magnetic field lines are 'frozen in' and move with the fluid. Magnetic field lines that are linked, knotted and tangled, cannot be undone by the fluid motions.

Photocatalysis has emerged as a powerful tool for enabling challenging transformations in organic synthesis. This thesis explores the development of several photocatalytic reactions designed to form carbon-heteroatom bonds from less-functionalized precursors.

This dissertation was to develop effective graphene-based nanofluidic devices by developing scalable fabrication methods and elucidating proton transport mechanisms.

Molecular complexes can be used as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction, water oxidation, and/or hydrogen peroxide production.

In eight chapters, the thesis of Rafaël Vos covers the effect of temperature and pressure on the electrochemical CO2 reduction.

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-Promotor: L.B.F. Juurlink

Gold nanoparticles show surprisingly strong interactions with light in the visible range, which can be divided into scattering, absorption, and photoluminescence.

In this thesis, topics relating to the optimization of high-throughput pipelines used for imaging are discussed. In particular, different levels of implementation, i.e., conceptual, software, and hardware, are discussed and the thesis outlines how advances on each level need to be made to make gains…

This thesis covers several aspects of quantum algorithms for near-term quantum computers and its applications to quantum chemistry and material science.

The work in this thesis demonstrates how to obtain an atomic-scale picture of a diverse set of complex surface structures observed using STM, under disparate conditions.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.L.V. Linnartz

Quantum computers are a proposed fundamentally new type of computer. They aim to perform some computations much faster than previously possible by exploiting phenomena at the quantum scale, called superposition and entanglement.

This thesis investigates the evolution and fate of gaseous exoplanets, which are continuously shaped by stellar activity across both short and long timescales.

Promotor: G. J. Kroes

This thesis advance our understanding and the application of molecular catalysts relevant to the reduction of oxygen as well as reduction of nitrite.

If mankind wants to survive into the 22nd century, we will need to change the way we live drastically. The human impact on our planet is everywhere, we are changing the atmosphere, the oceans and the land, leading to global warming, climate change, loss of biodiversity and pervasive pollution. There…

Leidse natuurkundigen hebben een nieuwe techniek ontwikkeld om elektrische geleiding te visualiseren in materiaal van gestapelde individuele atoomlagen. Jaap Kautz en Johannes Jobst, die dit jaar de NeVacprijs ontvingen voor hun onderzoek, publiceerden in Nature’s Scientic Reports.

De Universiteit Leiden wordt door het Franse weekblad L’Express geprezen als een van Europa’s toonaangevende ‘schools of power’, met speciale aandacht voor de Faculteit Governance and Global Affairs en het Institute of Security and Global Affairs in Den Haag en haar rol in het opleiden van toekomstige…

In het kader van de verjaardag van de Universiteit Leiden krijgen leerlingen uit groep 7 van verschillende basisscholen in Leiden en Den Haag les van een echte professor. Ymre Schuurmans doet mee met 'Meet the professor' en is te gast bij de Jan van Nassauschool in Den Haag. Zij stelt het volgende…

Van waterzuiveringsinstallaties tot een lekkere warme douche, de CO2-uitstoot ten gevolge van het watergebruik in de VS staat gelijk aan dat van 50 miljoen auto’s die een jaar lang rondrijden. In The Washington Post raadpleegt journalist Tik Root verschillende experts om te leren over manieren om ons…

Intensive 5-day programme on the world-famous Antwerp-based printing and publishing house founded by Christopher Plantin in 1555. International experts will discuss how it developed the production and distribution of religious books and related illustrations and prints in the following centuries.

Decentralized plug and play systems for energy production are the future picture of our society. Artificial photosynthetic systems are used for this purpose.

Early time-resolved experiments by Frauenfelder on the ensemble of the kinetic rebinding of CO to myoglobin molecules resulted in a stretched exponential relaxa-tion due to a very large spread of the reaction rates of individual molecules.

The long-held desire - to link structure directly to function and to explain molecular mechanisms based on basic chemical or physical principles - is finally coming closer, satisfying not only our scientific curiosity but also offering new solutions to the many challenges in the field of health, energy…

Curved single crystals provide variable, but well-defined surface structures.

Voltammetry plays a crucial role in modern scientific research by offering valuable insights into the electrochemical properties of materials, with wide-ranging applications in fields such as materials science, energy storage, corrosion studies, and sensor development.

Hoe dacht men tijdens de Renaissance over seks? Den Hartog neemt je mee op een tocht vol vervreemding én herkenning, en laat je met een nieuwe blik kijken naar seksuele opvattingen van toen en nu.

Stellar feedback is a crucial ingredient in the evolution of galaxies.

Carbon dioxide capture and utilization technologies are necessary to create a truly circular economy. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate is an appealing carbon utilization method as it can be performed at room temperature and pressure, it only requires two electrons, and it has…

Na het afronden van de bacheloropleiding volgen verreweg de meeste studenten de masteropleiding. De Universiteit Leiden stimuleert studenten om na hun bacheloropleiding door te gaan met de masteropleiding.

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-promotors: A.I. Yanson, L.B.F. Juurlink

Hydrogen fuel cells are expected to be pivotal in the energetic transition towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. However, their industrial scalability is severely hindered by the high cost and degradation rate of platinum catalysts, one of their key components. Addressing this…

Promotor: Ed F. Deprettere, Co-promotor: Todor P. Stefanov

The overall theme of this thesis is to complement the electrochemical data acquired in fuel cell research with in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).

The experiments described in this thesis employ local lentiviral knockdowns in brain areas of female zebra finches followed by behavioural assays consisting of preference and Go/Nogo tasks.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M.L. van Heck, Co-Promotor: B.P. Tighe

With the help of quantum mechanics, digital quantum hardware may be able to tackle some of the problems that are too difficult for ordinary computers. But despite these expectations and the ongoing effort of the research community, reliable quantum computers are not yet realized in a lab setting.

Bacterial biocatalysis constitutes a sustainable alternative for high-value chemicals production by enabling the utilization of renewable feedstocks.

Promotores: C. J. ten Cate; M. A. Ainslie. Co-promotor: W. Slabbekoorn

Ice, the solid state of water, plays an important role on our planet as well as the entire universe.Despite the fact that an individual water molecule has a very simple structure, its chemical bonding in the solid phase can be surprisingly complex.

The key characteristic of active matter is the motion of an emergent collection (such as a flock of birds), which is driven by the consumption of energy by its active components (i.e. individual birds).

Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances.

In most applications, electrocatalysts exhibit a large surface area to volume ratio, for example using nanoparticles.