The Vrouw Vennepolder near Oud Ade has been transformed into the Polderlab. Scientists and students from Leiden University, together with farmers and citizens, investigate how to manage peatland in a sustainable and profitable manner. A great opportunity for students to experience how scientific knowledge…

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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.

Interdisciplinary education and research projects

Promotor: H.V.J. Linnartz

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

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.

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.

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

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 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?

In the fight for a liveable planet, we desperately need a fairer distribution of wealth and equal rights for all, argues anthropology professor Marja Spierenburg. ‘That will also generate broad-based support for sustainable development.’

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…

The effects of sustainability projects on poorer, marginalised people should be considered at a much earlier stage. This is the opinion of Marja Spierenburg, Professor of Anthropology of Sustainable Development and Livelihood, who will give her inaugural lecture on 25 February.

PhD defence

PhD defence

Lecture

Many students are finishing their master thesis on sustainability this summer. In this blog, we reflect on their topics, approaches, and goals by highlighting theses from Governance of Sustainability, European Law, Global Archaeology, Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Ecology, and…

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

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

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.

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…

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.

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

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.

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.

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…

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…

On this page, you will find the recordings of the Tuesday Talks since April 2025. Recordings of the precursor to the Tuesday Talks, This Week’s Discoveries, are also available here.

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.

An international team of astronomers including Leiden scientists publishes the image of a young star with a surrounding dust disk that is still being fed from its surroundings. The phenomenon around the star SU Aur may explain why so many exoplanets are not neatly aligned with their star. The European…

‘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 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.

These podcast episodes were written for the Green Office’s Spring Podcast competition and miniseries 'Beyond the Safe Space', on the theme: the Planetary Boundaries, which took place between the months of March-May 2023.

Research truly comes to life when it contributes meaningfully to society. By sharing our findings, advising policymakers or contributing to community projects – we can make a real impact. Scroll down and discover how Science and society can mutually benefit from each other.

Is there extra-terrestrial life out there? It now looks as though we can sketch out an answer to this enduring question. Leiden Observatory is helping to build new instruments to find the most promising exoplanets.

Leiden Observatory is the astronomical institute of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University.

We are very excited to announce our Sustainability Series for 2023-2024. Each month an interactive workshop will be organised that discusses a specific theme of sustainability. Interested about sustainability? Do not hesitate to sign up to our events !

The availability of natural resources, the energy transition, the importance of circularity and our dependence on China. This and more is what Professor of Industrial Ecology René Kleijn's inaugural lecture is about.