Leiden has a strong tradition in theoretical physics, thoroughly linked with experimental disciplines.

Promotor: M. Franx, Co-Promotor: I.F. Labbé

This PhD-thesis presents a study on micron-sized particles, so-called colloids. By controlling the chemical and physical properties of these particles, such as the interparticle interaction and the particles’ shape, colloids can act as building blocks that self-assembly into larger structures.

Promotor: Prof.dr. T.J. Aartsma, Co-promotor: R.N. Frese

You’ve been accepted! Leiden University looks forward to welcoming you as a new student. Your next step is to prepare for your studies. Below you can find some tips to help you get a head start as you embark on your studies at Leiden University.

For centuries astronomers studied the Universe by collecting light. Nowadays, we are living in times of great technological advancements, which allow us to explore our Universe in a new way - though gravitational wave radiation.

Research at Leiden Observatory spans the full width of modern astrophysical enquiry. It is based on observation, theory, simulation, and experiment. Two broad clusters characterize the ongoing research. Within each theme, researchers carry out their personal and specialized research programme. The two…

Physicist Jelmer Renema will spend two years conducting research at Oxford University in Great Britain funded by a Rubicon grant from NWO.

Cells in our body are constantly performing small tasks, such as repairing wounds. They exert force by changing shape. But how do cells translate their shape into exerting a force in a specific direction? Experimental and theoretical Leiden physicists have now found a clue to answer this question. Cells’…

PhD Defence

In our lab, we investigate the physics and material properties of low-dimensional systems.

Plants, algae and cyanobacteria have the amazing capacity to perform delicate photophysical and photochemical processes of light capture, excitation transfer, charge separation and catalysis in fluctuating living environments. As a consequence, photosynthetic proteins and membranes form dynamic architectures.…

How do massive stars form? What molecular species hide in the Martian atmosphere? Are there Earth-like exoplanets in habitable zones? These questions can be answered using the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will be built over the next six to seven years. ‘To make these future discoveries possible,…

Key publications of the Medical Systems Biophysics and Bioengineeringgroup (Mashaghi Lab)

Are you interested in taking up an extra challenge during your master’s programme? Have you thought about applying for our Summer School programme or are you interested in developing your personal leadership style?

Our group explores the larger domain of quantum measurement. In particular we investigate two themes that are closely connected: The detection of specially prepared quantum states of light and understanding and characterizing quantum photon detectors.

When you apply for admission, you’ll be asked to submit several documents.

The Casimir pre-PhD programme at Leiden University prepares you for a PhD position in physics. If focuses on six research themes: Molecular Biophysics, Physics of nanostructures, Quantum Matter and Functional Materials, Quantum Information and quantum optics, Universe physics; theory and instrumentation,…

The programme will give you the opportunity to choose from a broad range of topics to study. You will be part of an international multidisciplinary research team at the LION.

New Approaches for studying Archaeological Dark Ages

How are the building blocks of life formed?

The Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) offers bachelor and master level education in physics at Leiden University.

Visualization of biomolecules in living cells by tagging with gold nanoparticles.

Provenance and distribution of raw materials

The European Physical Society has awarded the prestigieus Edison Volta Prize to Leiden physicist Michel Orrit. The prize is handed out every two years to an individual or a group of at most three scientists as an acknowledgment of an outstanding achievement in physics research.

The new programme Synoptic Optics, funded by the NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences, will develop new optical techniques. Researcher Frans Snik and Professor of Experimental Astrophysics Christoph Keller from Leiden Observatory will test novel approaches to monitor air pollution and discover…

Light reflects from a mirror, but where exactly does this reflection happen? Well, it depends, Martin van Exter and Corné Koks discovered. Their precise calculations, published in Optics Express, are important for designing optical cavities for quantum communication.

In an Advance Online Publication biophysicist John van Noort and others show using magnetic tweezers that DNA is folded in compliant helices of chromatin. This allows enzymes access to the DNA needed for gene expression. Van Noort's research group made the discovery in close partnership with researchers…

It is partly thanks to Leiden professor Michel Orrit that we are today able to study individual molecules. He just missed winning a Nobel Prize, but is today the recipient of another important scientific award: NWO’s prestigious Spinoza Prize.

Lecture

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…

To be eligible for Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Although smartphones and other consumer cameras are increasingly used for scientific applications like citizen science, it’s still difficult to compare and combine data from different devices. PhD student Olivier Burggraaff developed a new easy-to-use standardised method which makes it possible for…

The research in my group addresses a range of topics related to quantum many-body physics.

How can zebrafish research help to understand and fight human cancer?

The master’s programme Physics at Leiden University offers a wide range of specialisations from theoretical research to cosmology. You will be trained for a career in research or for a more practical-oriented specialisation. The programme offers a wide choice of individual study paths that take into…

World-class research is integral part of the master’s education. You obtain a Physics degree from an institute with an international reputation. Research in this programme is fundamental and curiosity-driven.

The programme will give you the opportunity to choose from a broad range of topics to study. You will be part of an international multidisciplinary research team at our institute.

We explore the possibilities to combine magnetic resonance techniques with atomic force microscopy together in a single microscope: the MRI-AFM, also called Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM).

How can zebrafish models be used to gain a better understanding of host-pathogen interaction mechanisms and to screen new drugs for infectious disease treatment?

By effectively integrating word-class scientific research and excellent education, you will become a professional astronomer with an internationally recognized degree.

This master’s programme combines Physics with Data Science. You will learn how physics has its own tricks to deal with big data and how techniques from machine learning and deep learning can be applied to classical and quantum data. The first focus of attention is on classical data, including data mining,…

By effectively integrating word-class scientific research and excellent education, you will become a professional astronomer with an internationally recognized degree.

What is the Electronics Department?

By effectively integrating word-class scientific research and excellent education, you will become a professional astronomer with an internationally recognized degree.

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

Lyndsey Housden teaches in the Interactive/Media/Design department at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague. She is a researcher and artist, working with interactive and haptic installations, spatial design and interdisciplinary projects for exhibitions, theatre, and festivals.

With each discovery that is made, the universe reveals a fraction of its secrets: the most distant galaxies and quasars, the atmosphere of exoplanets, evidence of dark matter, complex molecules in space. This is what fills the days and nights of the researchers from the Leiden Observatory and their…

Physicists at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) conduct fundamental research into physical phenomena. They are inspired by curiosity and the desire to know more about the world in which we live. This research has always paved the way for new practical applications. These are something that the…