How can the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework developed in the SSbD4CheM project facilitate the creation of safer and more sustainable chemicals and materials across various industries?

The Cryogenics Department has a liquid helium production unit and an automatic liquid nitrogen filling plant.

In this project, we will study the genetic and environmental drivers of woodiness and stem lignification at the level of plant‐to‐gene‐to‐molecule.

From Roman ships to the ‘Gordon’ cavalry mask. Alumnus Tom Hazenberg was involved in spectacular finds that put the Dutch frontiers of the Roman Empire on the map. His mission is to give heritage back to the people.

Your time at Leiden and Delft is about more than just studying. Some of your best experiences will stem from being a part of our lively and diverse student community, as well as from life in these beautiful cities.

Ships are still emitting too much nitrogen oxide. Till now it has been impossible to measure this at sea, but that is set to change. Solomiia Kurchaba combined satellite data and developed algorithms to identify which ships are emitting too much. Kurchaba received her PhD on 11 June.

Arts and culture

Dr Irene Groot (LIC) has been appointed professor of Surface and Interface Science with effect from 1 March. The appointment is an honour for Groot. 'It feels like recognition of your research, teaching and leadership qualities.'

Overview of the CML reports

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2020, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

The current production of a number of critical metals is insufficient for the large-scale transition to electric vehicles. This is the conclusion of a report by environmental scientist Benjamin Sprecher and organisations Copper8 and Metabolic. As a solution, they advocate more electric car-sharing,…

An international team of astronomers, led by Will Rocha of Leiden Observatory, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have discovered that the key ingredients for making potentially habitable worlds are present in early-stage protostars, where planets have not yet formed.

One of ECSL’s most successful activities is the ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy, which is open to students of all levels of study, as well as a few young professionals already working in the space or space-related sectors. The course is now in its 28th year and boasts a large family of alumni…

Leiden based chemistry student and chess grandmaster proposes molecular system for development of artificial leaf

In ten years, it is projected that ten percent of global civil aviation operations will be unmanned. Are the current international aviation laws and regulations up to these technological developments? Fernando Fiallos will defend his dissertation on 14 November 2019.

This year, an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant went to Mink van IJzendoorn, enabling him to investigate the disappearance of amphorae. ‘We take means of packaging and shipment for granted, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives; they are crucial.’

How can we reduce CO2 emissions from industry? Leiden psychologists Emma Mors and Christine Boomsma are examining the public perception and acceptance around the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. This is part of the ALIGN CCUS European research programme.

E-mails are not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about sustainability. Yet, your e-mails can add kilos of extra CO2 to the atmosphere each year. Students from the LDE Bachelor Honours Programme Sustainability tackled these and other sustainability challenges on behalf of partner organisations.…

In some university restaurants and cafés, you can already order them and, come January, you can enjoy them everywhere: the Pure products. Sustainable, healthy and/or vegetarian. The beautiful lime green, also the colour of the plates and bowls, is the vibrant symbol of these products. And Pure is even…

In her inaugural lecture on 11 September, Miranda van Eck, Professor of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Therapeutics, addressed her research related to developing medications to keep our blood vessels clean.

Each year a staggering 18 billion chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, and cows either die or are killed without making it onto someone's plate. Environmental scientists Juliane Klaura, Laura Scherer, and Gerard Breeman were the first to calculate this number on a global scale. 'Reducing these numbers…

Nanoparticles that transport medicines to a specific part of the human body are usually broken down in the liver prematurely. Jeroen Bussmann from Leiden University has discovered a new method to prevent this from happening. Publication in ACS Nano.

Within 20 years, intelligent machines will play a major role in society. ‘Selfdriving cars will be 90% safer than human-driven cars and will change transportation globally,’ says artificial intelligence scientist Bart Selman of Cornell University. He gave the first Ada Lovelace lecture of the Leiden…

Using photosynthesis to generate energy, or using enzymes to effectively produce biofuel; Leiden chemists Huub de Groot en Hermen Overkleeft have both obtained an NWO TOP funding for their pioneering research. With the money they can take on new PhD students.

On Energiepodium.nl, Rob de Wijk, Professor of International Relations and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, states that the Nord Stream 2 Project, a pipeline for Russian gas into Europe, causes a conflict between geopolitics and commerce.

On 30 November 2019, the event ‘Bogus constructions and intra EU migrants (working in the Netherlands)' took place. This very successful seminar was organized in spirit of the project Solidarity Under Strain (SOLID), part of the research focus area ILS 2.0.

Leiden University has taken eighth place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Over 900 universities from all round the world participated in the ranking.

Denmark, Poland and Germany are a few of the countries that have closed their borders, entirely or certain sections, in response to the continued advancement of coronavirus. Normally, this is only possible when there is a threat to public order or national security.

The Dutch Royal Couple received 70 scientists at the yearly gala for the Diplomatic Corps at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam on 14 June 2023.

Venture capital investors Zeeuws Investerings Fonds and Participatiemaatschapij Oost Nederland have joined forces with national and regional partners to fund development and sales of MIMETAS’ unique 3D disease- and tissue modelling technologies.

The Dutch government will be unable to make wearing face masks mandatory in public spaces in the short term, according to three constitutional and administrative law experts in NRC newspaper, including Wim Voermans.

Employees are laying down their work in various sectors, such as regional public transportation and Dutch postal service PostNL. Inflation appears to be increasing dissatisfaction about working conditions, thinks Barend Barentsen, Professor in Labour Law at Leiden University. ‘It's the final straw.’

Following ASEAN Customs Transit System pilots in Cambodia, Lao, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) system has now been formally launched for general use.

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.

Great news! Leiden University ended up as 7th most sustainable university in the world, according to Green Metric. Meaning, that Leiden University moved one place up in the rankings. In this memo, participation in this ranking is evaluated, points for improvement are given and an ambition suggestion…

On Tuesday evening 22 August, our very dear colleague Jo Hermans passed away. Jo had been ill for some time, but continued to enjoy life in good spirits until the very end. He meant a great deal to Leiden University and will be remembered with fond memories by many.

Leiden University has taken seventh place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Almost 1,000 universities from all over the world participate in the ranking.

The Gravitation programme NETWORKS has been awarded a COFUND grant of 3 million euros. Half of this comes from the European Commission's Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, with industry partners paying the other half. Of the fourteen new PhD candidates, two will join Frank den Hollander's research…

The winner of the 'Nobel Prize for Mathematics' was there, Mayor Henri Lenferink was there, and 550 enthusiastic participants were there: Equadiff 2019 in Leiden. With plenary lectures in the beautiful Hooglandse Kerk, mini-symposia in the Kamerlingh Onnes Building and a conference dinner at Scheltema,…

Satellites belonging to American space company SpaceX recently came very close to a Chinese space station. Experts are calling for traffic management rules in space.

Physicists Carlo Beenakker and Jan Aarts have been elected Fellows of the American Physical Society. Carlo Beenakker: 'People acknowledge your contribution, that is just very good to hear.'

Dutch political party VVD wants to set up a 'Mini Schengen zone' to control immigration better. But that is easier said than done, says Professor of European Law, Jorrit Rijpma.

Recently, the University of Amsterdam was the scene of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that got out of hand. The demonstrators included rioters who wished to remain anonymous by wearing face coverings. Several experts, including Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke…

GLOBOX is a spatially differentiated multimedia fate, exposure and effect model. It is used for the calculation of spatially differentiated LCA characterisation factors on a global scale.

PhD, Staff

PhD, Staff

You will learn to produce solutions to current issues found where economics and public administration meet. You will analyse the ways in which social-economic policy and regulatory governance can be improved, and how to realise those improvements in the recalcitrant administrative playing field, in…

How do we address the society’s most pressing issues through governance? The Master of Public Administration gives you a unique research-led multi-level perspective on the practice of management, steering, and coordination of political, economic and societal actors, with three specialisations to suit…

Professor Michiel Kreutzer has been appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University. He will take up the role on 1 January 2020. At present, he is Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Director of Education at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Delft University of Technology.…