CERA (CErtification of RAw Materials) is a four-year project that will develop a standardized certification scheme ensuring environmental, social and economic sustainability in extraction, processing, trading and manufacturing of all mineral raw materials. It will guarantee traceability of certified…

Where and how are critical materials currently used and how can this information be used to develop scenarios about their future demand.

Over the past century, the world population has grown exponentially, as has our need for energy and raw materials. If we wish to continue to live prosperously in the future, we have to radically restructure our economy and consumption. Scientific research shows us how to do this.

Over the past century, the world population has grown exponentially, as has our need for energy and raw materials. If we wish to continue to live prosperously in the future, we have to radically restructure our economy and consumption. Scientific research shows us how to do this.

A modeling approach with applications to the Bau de l'Aubesier (Southeastern France)

How can Critical Raw Material policies/strategies be enhanced in the EU context?

Some examples of research questions include: What framework of circular strategies should local practitioners use? How should practitioners organize their monitoring of the circular economy activities in the region of interest? What are the main products that have the most circular potential in the…

Can we develop a platform for raw materials intelligence?

Cars, wind turbines, solar panels and smartphones. ‘Critical’ raw materials like platinum or cobalt are used in all the technologies that are essential for the energy and digital transition. But we should be aware of the scarceness of these materials, a new campaign warns.

A scenario building web-tool and knowledge package to enable multi-level decision making for the transition to the Circular Economy

1) Assess the trends in supply and production status of these critical minerals and mineral products worldwide and Europe’s dependence including on intermediate products such as permanent magnets, RE based super alloys, batteries, polishing compounds, phosphors, catalysts etc. 2) Trace the entire value…

How can prospective LCA be streamlined in a way that its practical application in research and technology development increases?

The electrochemical reduction of a group of organic compounds on platinum is strongly dependent on the arrangement of the atoms in the platinum surface. Christoph Bondue, postdoc in Marc Koper's group, published this in Nature Catalysis on 4 March. The reduction of such compounds is an important process…

Provenance and distribution of raw materials

The project “Digital Materials” is about the conception, exploration and analysis of possibilities to make digital processes directly operative and tangible in physical materials and examines how the fiction of these “Digital Materials” could affect on figures of interaction between human subjects and…

This subproject, carried out by post-doctoral researcher Dr. O. Nieuwenhuyse, investigates changes and continuities in the functional, social and symbolic uses of the material culture, c. 6800-5800 BC. A contextually oriented approach is adopted, which pays attention to the local socio-economic and…

All of our courses require you to do (background) reading. This may include books, readers and/or materials uploaded to the online learning environment Blackboard. An overview of the literature you need to study can be found in the course description in the online prospectus, under the heading ‘Reading…

All our courses require you to do (background) reading. This may include books, readers and/or materials uploaded to the online learning environment Blackboard. You can find an overview of the literature you need to study in the course description in the online prospectus, under the heading ‘Reading…

On 15 April 2017, the Journal of WTO and China published Richard Jiang's article entitled 'Can Public International Law Play a Role in China - Raw Materials II?'

We have recently discovered that there are biological proteins that phase separate out of solution much the way oil will de-mix from water (see movie). These form dense, liquid-like phases called protein condensates.

Researchers within the cluster are committed to the close and expert analysis of the materiality and content of the arts, literature and media they study. Different types of media bring various aspects of this core interest to the fore.

This project looks at material culture to better understand the character and organization of Roman colonial society in the Republican period, with a focus on the colony of Aesernia (founded 263 BC) in Samnium (modern-day Molise, Italy). What impact did the foundation of the colony have on precolonial…

The goal is to develop educational materials for Dâw, Hupd’äh, and Nadëb Indigenous peoples (Naduhup family; Middle and Upper Rio Negro; Brazilian Amazon). In order to achieve this, first of all, the fieldwork data collected during a collaborative project among anthropologists and linguists (2017-2020)…

Material Culture Studies revolves around the analysis of the cultural biographies of all sorts of material objects from flint axes, to pottery, to houses and monumental structures.

Last week, the results of the 2016 call for proposals of the European Institute of Technology Raw Materials (EIT RM) became available. Both Leiden University and Delft Unversity of Technology are partners in this Knowledge and Innovation Community, in which some 100 research institutes, industries and…

What are the mechanics of soft materials (e.g. foam, sand)?

It is not man’s ingenuity, but rather materials that are the source of innovation and progress. This is what archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers concludes based on his research into craftsmanship and material processing in the Early Bronze Age.

Please find below links to articles / events that might be of interest.

Research on the global field of museums, heritage, commemoration, consumption and material culture

A sustainable resource management is an essential aspect to satisfy the current human needs without compromising the needs of future generations.

Proceedings of the International Colloquium Leiden, May 29 and 30, 2008

Examining if large scale application of new energy pathways can be constrained by materials and emissions.

Ongoing microwear analysis of the flint artefacts from the Funnelbeaker period suggests that flint had a pivotal role in the representation and structuration of the cosmological order of Funnelbeaker society.

New Approaches to the Study of Textual Material from the Early Pharaonic to the Late Antique Period

What are the flows of C&DW (e.g. bricks, concrete, gypsum and wood) in the case study countries ? How to define the specification for each material to be quantified? What indicators should be used to identify the pattern of each C&DW management system? How to interpret the MFA results in relation…

New Approaches to Understanding the Eastern Mediterranean during Byzantine and Ottoman Times

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.

An account of the total of material flows going in, out and through Amsterdam.

In the Aarts lab we combine or structure materials, mostly in thin film form, in such a way that the hybrid has different and novel properties or functionalities.

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.

Perception of material culture, design and digital knowledge applications

The role of material production as a driver of environmental impacts is increasing, which calls for a better understanding of global material flows. This thesis explores the role of in-use stocks of products, buildings and infrastructure as a key driver of global material demand and discusses the implications…

Self-assembly is an abundant process in nature and is vital to many processes in living organisms.

In this thesis, time-lapse fluorescent microscopy plays a pivotal role in investigating functional materials within living cells as well as the migratory behaviour of neural progenitor cells.

The group of Dr. Roxanne Kieltyka designs and synthesizes molecules that self-assemble into polymeric materials using specific non-covalent interactions. These substrates can be used for numerous applications in medicine ranging from disease detection to cell delivery depending on the (bio)molecular…

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

Coordination chemistry is the chemistry of metal atoms

A new type of tripodal squaramide-based supramolecular hydrogels is developed and studied.

Promotors: Prof.dr. J. Zaanen, Prof.dr.ir. H. Hilgenkamp