An international team of astronomers led by Dutch scientist Martijn Oei has discovered the largest pair of jets from a black hole ever seen. The 'jumbojets' extend a combined length of 140 Milky Ways. The Leiden Observatory played a prominent role in this research. The publication will feature on the…

Promotor: W. Jaffe, Co-promotor: K. Meisenheimer

Astronomers at ASTRON and Leiden University have used the LOFAR radio telescope to discover a 'brown dwarf' – a faint object more massive than Jupiter, but significantly less massive than the Sun. The discovery of the object dubbed Elegast, opens up a new path that uses radio telescopes to discover…

In this thesis, both the obscured and unobscured star formation of high-redshift galaxies (UV-bright galaxies and serendipitously identified [CII]-emitters) is investigated.

Tracing the evolution of the molecular gas content in galaxies is critical for a complete understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, as it provides the direct fuel for star formation. Studies of high-redshift (z>1) molecular gas reservoirs, most commonly traced by carbon monoxide (CO), have seen…

The publication in Nature Ecology & Evolution about the so-called Siberian unicorns took centre stage in a Dutch radio interview.

On 25 April 2016, Suliman Ibrahim, Senior Researcher at the VVI, was a guest expert on the weekly radio program: 'Huna Libya', a joint initiative by the Libyan al-Wasat Radio and Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW).

In an interview with Sveriges Radio, Sweden’s national radio station, Jorrit Rijpma, Professor of European Law, spoke about European legislation concerning migration.

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden University’s Faculty of Science with two Nigerian universities, the Center for Basic Space Science and University of Nigeria.

BNR Radio has broadcast an item on the physics formulas that are painted on walls across the Leiden historic city center. The wall formulas are initiated by Sense Jan van der Molen and Ivo van Vulpen.

Physicist Joost Frenken was interviewed on the radio show 'Langs de Lijn en Omstreken' (Radio 1) about the recent discovery of superconductive graphene. The one-atom-thick material was already known for its strength, flexibility, lightweight and good conductivity.

Researchers have discovered oxygen in the furthest known galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0. Leiden astronomers Sander Schouws and Rychard Bouwens were part of the team that made this discovery. This news was reported in all newspapers and online media.

Simulations of galaxy formation provide much more information about galaxies than a telescope. Simulations have been improving significantly in recent years. Astronomer Evgenii Chaikin made such a significant contribution to this field that he graduated with honours on February 27th.

The recent trade dispute between the U.S. and China has renewed the attention for the dependency of the U.S. and many other developed countries on the imports of critical materials. Recently this has led to an initiative by the U.S. government to team up with resource rich countries like Australia and…

On Tuesday June 14th, Dr. Armin Cuyvers of Leiden Law School discussed the legal consequences of a possible Brexit in the radio program Juridische Zaken (Legal Matters) of Business News Radio (BNR).

Somali archaeology in Somaliland takes centre stage in a BBC World Service radio programme and a China Global Television Networks (CGTN) programme, both presented by archaeologist Sada Mire.

An extraordinary encounter took place in 1911. American scientists discovered the last 'wild' Indian, from the Yahi tribe, who had lived in total isolation for years. As he had no name, they called him Ishi. But who was this man, and what did this discovery mean to us? Cultural anthropologist Erik Bähre…

Associate Professor Erik Bähre talks about the upcoming elections in Brazil on the Dutch Radio channel BNR Radio.

An international team of researchers led by astronomers from Leiden University (the Netherlands) has produced the first sharp radio maps of the universe at low frequencies. Thanks to a new calibration technique, they bypassed the disturbances of the Earth's ionosphere. They used the new method to study…

In astronomy, the interpration of observations and measurements plays a crucial role: we rely purely and fundamentally on the information that reaches us as observers. And 80% of all matter in the universe is undetectable directly.

The LUCDH foster the development of new digital research by awarding a number of Small Grants each year. COIn Grants support Infrastructure development. We congratulate our four successful awardees for 2026.

Promotor: A. Achúcarro Co-promotor: A. Boyarsky

A mother who is far from the romantic ideal image of the mother as we know is the murderous mother. Genevieve Lhermitte, the mother who killed her 5 children, or the neurosurgeon who killed her 14-year-old daughter whose trial recently ended are examples of shocking stories. It goes against every thought…

In Indonesië zijn studenten massaal in opstand gekomen tegen de regering, die vlak voordat er straks een nieuw parlement aantreedt, nog snel een aantal nieuwe wetten wil doorvoeren.

Tanja Masson-Zwaan, an assistant professor at the Institute of Air and Space Law, spoke on Friday 14 April about space mining on BBC Radio.

The LUCDH foster the development of new digital research by awarding a number of Small Grants each year. These are our past awardees.

Joris Larik was interviewed by BBC World Service radio on the state of Brexit negotiations, the Irish border issue and ongoing Dutch preparation.

Anthropologist Bart Barendregt is participating in a new Indonesian study program that focuses entirely on the Indonesian digital society. The Radio 1 NPO program Focus interviewed Barendregt 'live' from Java about his research on social media, Islam and boy bands.

What’s the fate of our sun, when in 5 billion years from now our Milky Way will clash with the Andromeda Galaxy? Leiden astronomers have been working on calculations on this collision. They recently gave a visual sneak preview on a big tech conference.

The European Research Council has awarded a Starting Grant to five early career scientists from Leiden University. They received funding up to 1.5 million euros to further expand on their research subject.

Olivier Nieuwenhuijse, project leader of the project Focus Raqqa, was hosted by the NOS Radio 1 news broadcast on February 16, 2017.

Together with colleagues and students, Professor of conservation biology Geert de Snoo studies the decline of the lion population in a national park close to Kenia's capital city, Nairobi. He discusses how they try to protect the lions on radio Sleutelstad FM.

On Friday morning, 8 June, Thijs Bosker, Associate Professor at Leiden University College, was interviewed by NPO Radio 1 on plastic pollution in Antartctica: ''Anually, an additional 4 - 12 billion kilos of plastic ends up in our ocean''.

Frank Takes, Assistant Professor at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), analyses the flow of funds in our economy using big data. With Jort Kelder, he discussed the value and importance of these data on NPO Radio 1.

Promotor: J.S. Kaastra Co-promotor: E. Constantini

Three major cosmology-focused missions are planned for the next decade: the Euclid space telescope, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Promotor: Prof.dr. S. Portegies Zwart

An Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) is a highly luminous region at the center of a galaxy, powered by the accretion into a supermassive black hole and emitting energy from radio waves to gamma rays, often outshining the host galaxy.

On 12 November Ingrid Leijten was a guest on Dutch NOS NPO Radio 1 programme Met het Oog op Morgen. She was asked to speak about the right to freedom of expression.

Companies like Facebook and Google make billions of dollars by selling or using our personal data. The data could be used by many different entities for many different reasons: from universities for research, to brands for creating targeted ads. But rather than just giving their data away to these companies…

Marieke Liem is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Security and Global Affairs of Leiden University in The Hague. She was interviewed by local Leiden radio programme ‘Sleutelstad’ about her research into murder cases in the Netherlands.

Bert Koenders, Professor Peace, Justice and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) appeared live on the ‘BNR de Wereld’ special broadcast ‘De Grote Vredesshow’ (The Great Peace Show). The radio show was hosted live from Wijnhaven in collaboration with the Faculty Governance…

Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Law and Society, was a guest on NPO Radio 1 programme 'Spraakmakers' to talk about more border fences on the EU’s external borders and the usefulness of such measures. She was also a guest on 'Vroeg!' to discuss a court case about ethnic profiling.

Dark matter. Something invisible that, according to calculations, comprises about 85% of the matter in the universe. With an ERC Advanced Grant of €2.5 million, Professor of Observational Cosmology Henk Hoekstra will map out even more precisely where this dark matter is to be found.

Nowadays, it is well known that hydrogen and helium (and small traces of lithium and beryllium) were created shortly after the Big Bang, while the heavier elements are created in the cores of stars at different evolutionary stages. When these stars explode as supernovae, they expel metals synthesised…

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…

This thesis develops a method for direction dependent calibration of the ionosphere in radio interferometric data.

Astronomers want to understand the Universe, from the Big Bang to the present day, and what the future will hold. In Leiden they focus on two key questions: ‘How did stars and planets originate’ and ‘How were galaxies and black holes formed in the young Universe?’ A new generation of telescopes – just…

In the Netherlands dozens of Eritrean minor refugees are wandering the streets, even though minor asylum seekers have a right to asylum.