On September 15-16, a joint two-day Hungarian-German chemical ecological scientific workshop was held at the Plant Protection Institute of the HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research (HUN-REN CAR). The event saw the participation of 12 researchers from the Chemical Ecology group led by Prof. Thomas Schmitt within the Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology at the University of Würzburg on the German side, and researchers from the Department of Chemical Ecology at the HUN-REN CAR Plant Protection Institute on the Hungarian side. The head of the department is Zsolt Kárpáti, who also served as the main organizer of the event.
On the first day, each researcher from both the Hungarian and German teams delivered high-quality presentations on their current research topics. Following these, they participated in a laboratory tour during which they showcased the department's state-of-the-art insect electro-physiological and behavioral equipment while conducting measurements. Among these, there are unique facilities and laboratories at the Central European level, such as the gas chromatograph coupled with electroantennograph (GC-EAD), the electropenetrograph (EPG), the specialized physiological instrument for single sensillum recording (SSR), the volatile collection lab, the 4-way and the Y-olfactometers, vibrometers, and a wind tunnel. The second day was filled with informal activities. The aim of organizing a professional program combined with team-building activities was to strengthen the collaboration between the Hungarian and German chemical ecology groups, which could lead to joint grant applications and research projects in the future.
