Welcome to the Leiden Science community! Throughout the year, our faculty hosts a range of events designed to bring together students and staff. From interesting lectures to lively gatherings and ceremonial milestones, there’s always something happening for you. Explore the upcoming events and make…

The Old Observatory houses four historical telescopes. On this page you can learn more about them.

Sustainability and law is one of Leiden Law School's four research focus areas.

Below you will find a collection of books, other than those in the BLRN book series, to which members of BLRN have contributed.

best phd theses of the faculty of science Leiden - physics, chemistry, computer science, biopharmaceutical sciences, biology, industrial ecology, environmental sciences, astronomy, mathematics. thesis

LUC's Liberal Arts and Sciences programme is centered around Global Challenges: complex problems which affect all humans living together on this planet.

Imagine no one in the Netherlands would eat animal products anymore, what would happen? And would it contribute to more climate justice? That is the theoretical exercise that environmental scientist Jan Willem Erisman and landscape architect Berno Strootman are taking up. 'Sometimes you have to think…

It’s Circular Economy Week, from 1 to 6 February. But what is it that makes an economy circular? And just how circular is our university? René Kleijn, lecturer on the honours class Circular Economy: from challenge to opportunity, explains.

A consortium led by Eefje Cuppen, Professor Governance of Sustainability at the Institute of Public Administration, has been granted NWO funding for a research project looking into the social, societal, and technical aspects of the energy transition.

With 8.9 million euros from the Danish National Research Foundation, Aarhus University and Leiden Observatory will establish the Center for Interstellar Catalysis. The centre is led by Aarhus professor Liv Hornekær and aims to find out how and when the building blocks of life formed in the Universe.…

NASA’s telescope SOFIA has provided a new glimpse of the chemistry in the inner region surrounding massive young stars where future planets could begin to form. Leiden PhD candidate Andrew Barr writes about it in the Astrophysical Journal. The scientists found massive quantities of water and organic…

The world we live in is changing in many aspects at an ever-increasing speed. And it will continue to do so. How do we anticipate these changes, such as the increase in atmospheric CO2, the extinction of species and industrialisation?

This book provides the answers, presenting clear insights into the current state of affairs and exploring future prospects.

Leiden University is an international, broad-based university. We distinguish five core domains for our research and teaching activities.

Astronomical observations of cold regions in the universe show a rich inventory of ices. Part of these ices may end up on planets like our own, but in that journey they will be exposed to considerable amounts of radiation.

Descriptive linguistics at LUCL covers documentation and descriptive analysis of lesser-studied languages as well as typological and historical comparison.

In September 2023 Social Justice Research, a journal from Springer Nature, published a ‘Special Issue on Veteran Reflections’. Eight ‘veterans’ analysed the current status of justice research and suggested new directions and refinements. Herman Steensma, guest member of the section Social, Economic…

The Jeugdwerkgroep is a national astronomy association for young people who are interested in astronomy. The Leiden section organizes a monthly meeting in the Old Observatory Leiden.

Promotor: H.V.J. Linnartz

Stars and planets form within cold, dense clouds of gas and dust drifting through interstellar space. Although dust makes up only a small fraction of this material, it plays a key role in shaping the chemical evolution of these environments.

Conservation of biodiversity is one of the main challenges today. A higher degree of biodiversity results in ecosystems that can withstand adverse conditions and better provide essential ecosystem services. This is the case for both agricultural and natural systems.

The energy system is at the heart of two of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: decreasing CO2 emissions to meet the ambitions of the Paris agreement while fulfilling the growing energy demand associated with the economic aspirations of a growing world population.

Interdisciplinary education and research projects

Over 1,200 children from junior schools in Leiden and The Hague were taught by a real professor on the university's anniversary.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H. J. A. Röttgering, Co-Promotor: Dr. M. Haverkorn

The work done during this PhD research, aims to investigate the effect of tidal heatingin the observability of extra-solar satellites around exoplanets.

The Sustainable City Map serves as a comprehensive guide to achieve a sustainable lifestyle within the city. Whether you’re new in town or just looking to make greener choices, this map has something for everyone!

Surreal Geographies recovers a forgotten archive of Holocaust representation. Examining art, literature, and film produced from the immediate postwar period up to the present moment, Kathryn L. Brackney investigates changing portrayals of Jewish victims and survivors.

‘The climate crisis is the greatest threat we face,’ says Leiden University environmental scientist Paul Behrens. ‘And yet, there is hope. In the near future, I think we will wonder why we didn’t make these changes earlier.’

How can we best deal with the current problems caused by the human impact on the nitrogen cycle? How do we make the transition to a sustainable society? As of 1 September, nitrogen expert Jan Willem Erisman will be working on these questions at Leiden University: he will exchange the Louis Bolk Institute…

How dangerous are micro- and nanoplastics? Do they affect the environment? What harm can they do to our bodies? Questions that we can now finally answer because of Fazel Abdolahpur Monikh. Together with his colleagues, he developed a method to detect and quantify nano-sized plastics. Their paper has…

Sustainability challenges don’t just call for environmental scientists – they require expertise from many academic fields. Thijs Bosker and Paul Behrens have made it easier for university lecturers to integrate sustainability into their courses. Their initiative, Local Actions, offers ready-made teaching…

Nanoplastics influence the behaviour of larval zebrafish, says new research by the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML). The researchers observed that a certain type of nanoparticles leads to stress reactions in the sugar balance, resulting in hyperactivity…

To what extent do nanoparticles accumulate in plants and animals, and what properties of the particles play a part in this? Willie Peijnenburg, professor of Environmental toxicology and biodiversity was awarded a Marie Curie grant to conduct research on the environmental effects of nanoparticles.

This book offers a linguistic anthropological analysis of multilingualism among the Matsigenka, Quechua, and Spanish languages on the coffee frontier of Southern Peru, set against the backdrop of economic transformation and deforestation in the world’s last great forest.

World history, connectivity and material culture, edited by Martin Pitts and Miguel John Versluys. From Cambridge University Press.

The sustainable business law research group is dedicated to researching the complex relationship between business activities and sustainability. It strives to develop legal solutions that contribute to a more ethical, just, ecologically responsible and socially inclusive society. Our aim is to develop…

The research that is united in the Liveable Planet programme, touches upon a wide range of aspects of human life. The goal is to deepen and expand the scope and to connect more researchers. The following case studies are examples of current research projects.

During the bachelor’s programme Astronomy you will immerse yourself in questions about our universe. Questions such as: ‘what happens in a black hole?’ and ‘what is dark matter?’ In doing so you will learn to apply mathematics and physics to astronomical problems and you will work with computer simulations…

Soil is a home for an unbelievable diversity and abundance of microbial life that is essential for supporting life on our planet.

The Old Observatory is still used intensively as a university building. Yet there is still plenty to see and experience in this beautiful monument. Find out what the possibilities are here.

Research into the evolutionary backgrounds of our diets can help us make the right choices in diet, health and lifestyle.

This thesis aims to demonstrate how the achromatic nature and design flexibility of liquid-crystal optics can be used to improve high-contrast imaging instruments to facilitate detailed exoplanet characterization.

Our current lifestyle is not sustainable, and we know it. Our carbon-based economy causes climate change, and our livestock threatens the rainforests. We also know what we ought to do to save the planet: decarbonize the economy and change our diet. However, too many people lack the moral motivation…

Leiden University has joined the Hague Climate Agreement. This comprises 38 climate deals aimed at making The Hague climate neutral by 2030.

Researchers, civil servants and local residents met on 27 September to talk about partnering for sustainability. What were the results? In a green ‘city oasis’ in the centre of The Hague they spoke about the energy transition, bottom-up initiatives and citizen science.