Modern optimization algorithms offer solutions for architectural decisions like spatial, structural and energy efficiency. A young computer scientist from Leiden University co-authored a paper that won the Best Paper Award at a leading conference in Krakow during the summer.

Voormalig demissionair staatssecretaris van Fiscaliteit en Belastingdienst Marnix van Rij gaf op 17 juni in samenwerking met universitair docent Esther Huiskers-Stoop een gastcollege over belastingrecht en duurzaamheid. Deze lezing werd op initiatief van student Darya de Wilt georganiseerd.

Grootschalige productie van batterijen voor elektrische auto’s zwakt de emissiereductie die door elektrisch rijden wordt behaald af.

Elise Darras studeert aan het Leiden University College (LUC) en be besloot een maand lang stage te lopen in Frankrijk bij H2Air.

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?

We do it every day but barely give it a thought: chewing our food. But the ‘simple’ process of masticating food may have played a crucial role in the evolution of our jaws, facial muscles and teeth.

Friday 5 February is Warm Sweater Day, a national initiative that encourages us to be aware of the simple measures we can take to save energy. The quickest win – certainly now we are all studying and working at home – is to turn the thermostat down a couple of degree. Take a selfie and share it on Instagram…

According to GreenMetric, in 2020, Leiden University will be in 8th place in the global sustainability ranking UI GreenMetric. In this memo, participation in this ranking is evaluated, points for improvement are given and an ambition suggestion is made for 2021.

CWTS is has been successful in another H2020 SwafS-14 call on territorial RRI. We are participating in a Coordination and support (CSA) project, RIPEET, which will start in February 2021 and last for 3 years.

Online services are stored on servers in data centres. Remko Fermin researched methods to make the memory in data centres more energy efficient.

Postdoctoral researcher Joost de Moor, who joined the interdisciplinary Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) initiative at Leiden University since April 2021, will spend 50% of his time doing research for the project

Overview of all dissertations published by PhD candidates from CML.

In otherwise energetic desserts at the bottom of the sea, researchers have found oases where microbes can harvest energy. Remarkably, the microbes first have to be buried under starving conditions for 80,000 years. An international group of researchers, amongst them José Mogollón from the Insitute of…

Buurtlab 070 is a new Leiden University project in which residents, researchers and students from The Hague work together on climate, sustainability and biodiversity solutions. What do they expect of the lab?

Former dean and physicist Frans Saris writes in his new book ‘Darwin’s combination lock’ how our culture enabled us to dominate nature and about the corresponding responsibilities. Together with Joris Berkhout he will talk about his book during the This Week’s Discoveries on 27 February.

The Sustainable City Lab The Hague will be a hub that connects organisations in The Hague that work on sustainability with the research and teaching at Leiden University. ‘We’re going to set to work on complex sustainability challenges in our own backyard,’ says project leader Eefje Cuppen.

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.

From underground heat exchangers at the Bio Science Park to drinking taps to replace water coolers. With its new environmental policy plan, Leiden University will become greener in the coming years.

Conference

A stretchy sheet over a bowl representing space, a marble on it's surface creating a dimple, deforming space. Simple classroom experiments like these are featured in new educational videos by AstroEDU. In the videos Leiden astronomers Maria Cristina Fortuna and Henk Hoekstra explain what we know of…

Got some good ideas for making studying and working at the university greener? If so, share them with the Leiden University Green Office.

Astronomer Henk Hoekstra has been appointed Professor Observational Cosmology at the Leiden Observatory with effect from 1 August.

Marc Koper, Professor of Catalysis and surface chemistry, has won the Brian Conway Prize for Physical Electrochemistry of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE). The ISE jury chose Koper as the winner due to his outstanding contributions in the field of physical electrochemistry.

Rottgering

Chemotherapy that does nothing until you irradiate it with light. Sylvestre Bonnet receives a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros for the development of this treatment. The Leiden chemist wants to build a new molecule to fight tumours that are at the time still difficult to treat.

What does it mean to eat healthily and responsibly? This question is gaining a new urgency now that in many countries undernourishment is being overtaken by diseases of affluence, such as obesity, and we are also becoming more aware of the environmental impact of our eating habits. It’s time to take…

What is the effect of light at night on plant phenology and physiology, and how does this affect plant interactions with other species?

How does the management of Elephant Marsh Fishery in Malawi relate to wider contexts of policies, theories and regions? And how can the current management system be adapted to achieve long-term sustainability of the fishery?

Knowing how to resolve global problems is one thing, but how do you make sure that it actually happens? That’s the real challenge, because there are powerful movements everywhere that want to reconstruct the walls of nation states. In an attempt to resolve this issue, Leiden researchers are experimenting…

The Leiden University Europe Hub approaches Europe from a broad and inclusive perspective.

Which teacher did an outstanding job in not only transferring knowledge in novel ways but also in getting students enthusiastic and connecting a course to current research themes? Meet the nominees for the Teacher of the Year Award 2023!

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…

In order to solve problems such as the refugee crisis, countries must work together at international level. This requires big changes in the way in which states make and implement policy. Leiden researchers analyse these changes and advise policymakers on best practices.

PRINCE (for Policy Relevant Indicators for Consumption and Environment) was a three-year project set up to explore ways to improve and expand the set of indicators used to estimate the environmental impacts linked to Swedish consumption, both within Sweden and abroad. Any new methods and indicators…

Over the recent period there have been a number of protests and demonstrations at universities by people who oppose the universities’ collaboration with the fossil fuel industry. Students and staff in Leiden are also expressing their concerns about this issue. We are now publishing a list giving an…

Evaluating the environmental consequences of diet changes in the European Union.

What are the capabilities or limitations of traveling between islands and how does this reflect seasonal variation? Is it possible to show higher levels of connectivity between islands based on generated pathways between several sites on two separate islands?

In July 2022, Leiden hosted the ESOF conference.

The AiChemist project (https://aichemist.eu) coordinated by Helmholtz Munich is an Innovative Doctoral Training Network funded through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA-DN) within the EU Horizon Research Framework, to the sum of €3 million. It brings together leading experts in AI, chemoinformatics…

This year Leiden University exists for 444 years! This will be celebrated together with the residents of Leiden and The Hague during various activities. One of these is scientists and residents doing research on plastics and psychology together.

Koper

There are over 7,000 languages in the world and over half of the world’s population is bilingual. But how do all these people use their language? And how do these languages differ from one another? Under the slogan of ‘Interconnecting linguistic diversity,’ the researchers from the Leiden University…

The master’s specialisation Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics at Leiden University offers a thorough experience on the front line of physics research with a practical training of communicative and computer skills. The programme focuses on Condensed Matter problems, such as Molecular Electronics,…

The master’s specialisation Research in Theoretical Physics prepares you for a PhD position in theoretical physics. The research entails a broad range of topics including High Energy Physics and Particle Cosmology, Theoretical Physics of Life Processes and Condensed Matter Theory.

The International Relations and Diplomacy programme gives you a unique combination: a thorough academic education in international relations and political science with practice-based training in international negotiation and diplomacy.

The genetic material of currently living Europeans is partly of Neandertal origin. Were our ancestors successful because they were hybridising and interacting with the local populations they encountered when migrating into new places? Reconstructing our evolutionary trajectory is key for rethinking…

CML’s education programme aims at training (under)graduate and graduate students for integrated and multidisciplinary sustainability research and for better decision making in managing the world’s natural resources, environmental quality and biodiversity.

This interdisciplinary minor addresses sustainability challenges from a systems perspective, and investigates ways to sustain society within planetary boundaries.

The Summer School ‘The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance’ will focus on a range of topics relevant to interactions between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) and the EU’s role within current patterns of global governance.