The primary goal of this conference is to bring together chemists, molecular biologists, plant and animal physiologists, ecologists, and human nutritionists to disseminate and discuss information on cutting-edge research in these various areas, and to continue to advocate and facilitate interdisciplinary research interactions. The program devised for this conference, presenting a coherent set of concepts and paradigms, will consist of five formal sessions covering 1) human interactions with plant volatiles, 2) the function of vegetative volatiles in the physiology and ecology of the plant, 3) the function of floral volatiles in the physiology and ecology of the plant, 4) biochemistry of plant volatiles, and 5) the use of instrumentation in studying plant volatiles. This meeting will be highly interdisciplinary, and the topics range from highly technical to those with general interests, for example the usages of plant volatiles in human affairs (e.g., foods, perfumes). By bringing diverse group of researchers together, this conference has the potential to have a major impact on many separate disciplines. Special efforts have been made to obtain a diverse and balanced group of speakers and to attract scientists at the early stages of their career, with emphasis on women and minorities, and have outlined specific steps to recruit and fund such participants.
