On October 5th, 2026 we recapped the scientific journey and celebrated the farewell of Jörg-Peter Schnitzler and the Research Unit of Environmental Simulation (EUS) in a scientific symposium. Many national and international collaborators and companions as well as fellows from Helmholtz Munich took part. The speakers shared stories of their year-long collaborations and the impressive results generated, pushing research fields forward, including but not limited to biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), biosphere-atmosphere exchange, and advanced phenotyping.
Many thanks to the speakers Manuel Spannagl, Erika von Mutius, Andrea Polle, Russell Monson, and Francesco Loreto, and to Klaus Mayer and his team for organizing and chairing the symposium!
At the EUS Symposium, we celebrated 42 years of Environmental Simulation at Helmholtz Munich—a journey from exposure chambers for plant and forest research to an interdisciplinary platform for global-change research, biosphere–atmosphere exchange, plant phenotyping, and environmental health. Over the decades, EUS has pioneered realistic long-term and multifactorial experiments, advanced solar simulation and phytotron technologies, and introduced dynamic root–shoot phenotyping, fitness screening, and VOC analysis to reveal how plants respond to interacting environmental factors. By connecting plant science with allergy, immunology, microbiome research, and human health, EUS has created an enduring legacy of scientific innovation, collaboration, and translation.
We are proud that EUS was part of the Environmental Health Center at Helmholtz Munich and that its research legacy will continue by the many great scientists who contributed to EUS over the 42 years.
We wish you all the best, Jogi, and everyone from EUS and great success in your new chapters of life.
Manfred Türke, Director of Operations of the Environmental Health Center (EHC)
on behalf the EHC and the EHC Executive Committee