The main focus of this thesis is the behaviour of two-dimensional materials, namely (anti)-ferromagnetic materials in the first two chapters, which show topological phases, and energetic square ice in the third and fourth chapter.

Promotor: J. Zaanen

This thesis describes the functional analysis of the Arabidopsis AHL15 gene.

The elementary excitations of magnets are called spin waves, and their corresponding quasi-particles are known as magnons. The rapidly growing field of Magnonics aims at using them as information carriers in a new generation of electronic devices, (almost) free of electric currents.

Geometric phases lead to a nontrivial interference result when an electron's different quantum mechanical paths choices encircle a magnetic coil in an Aharonov-Bohm experiment.

Promotor: Prof.dr. W.Th.F. den Hollander, Co-promotor: R. Fernandez

The RIPEET project will support Responsible, Research and Innovation (RRI) policy experimentations for energy transition in three European territories - in Extremadura (ES), Highlands and Islands of Scotland (UK) and Ostrobothnia (FI). The framework conditions, processes, and outcomes of these experiments…

What are key regulators of plant ageing that can reverse ageing in plants (rejuvenation), and how can we use this knowledge to improve crop plants?

Promotor: Prof.dr. M.L. van Hecke

The programme consists out of three phases: the orientations phase, de pre-PhD phase, and the PhD phase. Each phase has its own characteristics and goals, that are explained below.

The energy transition is a complex transformation process that is not only about technology -moving towards renewable energy sources-, but even more so about societal and institutional change. The energy transition requires and provides opportunities for actors to take on new roles.

Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) is the largest knowledge centre in the Netherlands in the field of life sciences & health and is also highly regarded internationally. The clustering of high-quality education, research, care and business attract students, scientists and entrepreneurs from all over the…

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.

A 35-year-old uranium crystal will not disclose its secret: what causes a dramatic phase transition at 17.5 Kelvin? Thanks to a new artificial intelligence approach, half of the possible explanations are excluded, but the definitive answer remains to be found. 'It is very frustrating', says physicist…

In December 2014, Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs with the Australian National University’s Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, commenced a research project to assess how (temporary) military interventions can best prepare…

In the early universe, the dynamics of the Higgs field can give rise to many interesting phenomena.

Both the Dutch government and the European Commission dedicate an increasing share of public funding for research and innovation to mission-oriented programs, aiming to facilitate sustainability transitions. These programs typically involve support fora range of different research activities, from the…

This research investigates the impact of socioeconomic developments on the physical condition of medieval populations in Holland and Zeeland between AD 1000 and 1600 through the analysis of human skeletal remains from three archaeological sites.

Promotor: E. Bouwman, Co-Promotor: S. Bonnet

SEAtrans: an interdisciplinary research project that aims at studying the dynamics and processes of transitions in society-nature interactions in Southeast Asian societies.

Promotor: W. T. F. den Hollander, F. H. J. Redig

Jaroslaw Kantorowicz and Rok Spruk examine the contribution of institutional reforms to economic growth.

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.

Promotores: F.H.J. Redig, W.T.F. den Hollander

Galaxies are environments where gas coalesces, cools, and is converted into stars. However, it remains unclear the exact mechanisms through which galaxies acquire, redistribute and lose their gas.

In this course, you will learn about sustainability and staying with the environmental boundaries of our planet. You will gain an understanding of the effects of growing affluence and population growth, the key challenges we are facing, and ways to influence your direct environment.

Systems with local constraints is a new finding in recent researches on complex systems. The heterogeneous spatial interactions and the temporal dependencies among those numerous units make it difficult to describe by traditional statistical physics.

The research group of Semonti Bhattacharyya at the Leiden Institute of Physics studies quantum transport measurements in Van der Waals heterostructures.

The dissociative chemisorption of a molecule on a transition metal surface represents a rate-limiting step in many heterogeneously catalyzed processes, whereby most chemicals are made. In spite of the importance of this reaction, an accurate first principles approach to modeling it does not yet exist.…

This project investigates the causes of the major archaeological change in the period of 40.000-20.000 BC in South Africa.

Promotor: M.L. van Hecke, Co-Promotor: B.P. Tighe

This dissertation consists of two parts, each of which considers a different research area related to random interval maps. In the first part we are interested in random interval maps that are critically intermittent.

The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) reduces vehicle emissions to combat climate change. EVs raise concerns regarding the production of lithium-ion batteries and related emissions; while batteries can also provide energy storage services for the electricity system.

Who is funding African science? How are different African and international funders interacting and contributing to develop scientific research in the continent? Are there potential inadvertent synergies among research funders that can be identified? These and similar questions are at the heart of this…

Promotores: Prof.dr. C.U. Keller, Prof.dr. H.C. Gerritsen

This thesis describes the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA), which consists of two small robotic telescope designed to detect exoplanets around the brightest stars in the sky.

De minor Economie en Beleid van de Universiteit Leiden leert je oplossingen te vinden voor problemen waar het Nederlandse openbaar bestuur elke dag aan werkt.

Like a mixture of oil and water, lipid membranes separate into two liquid phases.

The lipid matrix in the stratum corneum (SC), the upper layer of the skin, plays a critical role in the skin barrier. The matrix consists of ceramides (CERs), cholesterol (CHOL) and free fatty acids (FFAs).

This doctoral thesis is an effort to understand how lipid phase-separation induced by diacylglycerol analogues in lipid-based nanoparticles affects their in vivo behavior, leading to specific nanoparticle-protein communications and selective cell targeting.

Majorana meets a mermaid

We study the interplay of topology and geometry with chirality for several passive and active systems, employing both analytical and numerical methods.

“Transitional justice” is a field of practice, policy and study that focuses on the ways that societies respond to legacies of large-scale atrocities though tribunals, truth commissions, reparations, and other mechanisms.

Metals surfaces form a group of effective catalysts for the reaction of small molecules such as hydrogen (H2).

Research in the Jawerth lab focuses on using principles from soft condensed matter physics to understand important biological materials.

When does it rain when air is oversaturated with moisture? How does an infection spread among the population? The problems that mathematician Professor Frank den Hollander tries to solve come from physics, chemistry and biology.

The research described in this thesis focused on the preparation of S/N functionalized carbene ligands and their transition metal complexes, and the exploration of their application as electrocatalysts for proton reduction.

How do academics develop into novel researcher roles alongside current teacher roles in the context of new universities in transition?