VAAM-Jahrestagung 2011 Karlsruhe, 3.–6. April 2011

6 WELCOME ADDRESSWelcome address of the organizing committeeó It is a great pleasure forus to welcome you to theannual meeting of the VAAMat the Karlsruhe Institute ofTechnology (KIT). More than900 abstracts from all fieldsof microbiology have beensubmitted and promise a very interesting andfruitful meeting. The topics of the main sessionsreflect the broad microbiologicalresearch interests in Germany and are representedby leading national and internationalscientists of the field of microbiology. In additionto the plenary sessions, a large numberof concurrent sessions have been set up,where primarily young scientists will beencouraged to highlight their results. As ascientific society, we continuously rely onexcellent students who are fascinated by themicrobial world, and we do hope that thismeeting in Karlsruhe will help to stimulatetheir enthusiasm.The entire meeting will be held without distractionin the same building, at theStadthalle, which will allow direct interactionwith all participants during the breaksbetween sessions. Posters will be located inthe break area, and thus will attract the mostattention of the participants.The location of the Stadthalle, in the centerof Karlsruhe, is within walking distance ofthe castle, KIT’s South Campus, the city’spedestrian area and the large and modernshopping center Ettlinger Tor, which offersthe opportunity to experience the city beyondscience. If you have one or two extra days oftime, you can travel around Karlsruhe: withina few minutes you can cross the Rhine andbe in France; or Strasbourg and the beautifulwine villages in Alsace or Pfalz are only onehour away.We will do our best to organize a mostinteresting and enjoyable meeting in Karlsruhe!óReinhard Fischer, Jörg Kämper,Tilman Lamparter, Clemens Posten,Natalia Requena, Christoph Syldatk,Josef Winter, Ursula Obst, Rolf Geisen,Claus Bollschweiler, Marvin Karos,Oskar Zelder, Bernhard NüßleinThe Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) consistsof Campus South (formerly University ofKarlsruhe) and Campus North (formerly ResearchCenter Karlsruhe) (right). Whereas Campus Southis located in the gardens of the castle, CampusNorth lies about 10 km north of the city.1, Presidential Office; 2, Future building for BiologicalSciences (currently under renovation);3, Engler Bunte Institute; 4, Organic Chemistry;5, Inorganic Chemistry; 6, Physics; 7, Institute forFunctional Interfaces. The Max Rubner Institute islocated in the east part of the city, just 5 minutesaway from Campus South.BIOspektrum | Tagungsband 2011