Akustik-Blog

Once again, it was that time of year when the IHTA sets off on new adventures. And what an adventure it was! It began high up in the treetops, where just a few small, wobbly wooden platforms separated the IHTA colleagues from the distant forest floor. Courageously many parcours were mastered, some of which even included manoeuvring a scooter over a wooden bridge or swinging heroically into a spider-like web. The final section was a platform at lofty heights, with no other way but forward into the depths below. Fortunately, a leap of faith proved that a braking device was in place, ensuring a smooth descent for everyone.

After this, a forest hike seemed like just the thing to calm the nerves and enjoy nature from a more familiar viewpoint. In beautiful sunshine, the walk was made towards the institute, enjoying the soundscape and adding some cheerful chattering to it.

Certainly hungry after all this activity, a great and well-deserved barbecue was enjoyed at the Institute, and let the day come to a peaceful end.

In this spirit, a big thank you to all the IHTA members who were involved in organising this excursion and who made this wonderful day possible.

From 24 to 27 October, the “junge DEGA Herbstworkshop” (autumn workshop) took place in Leipzig and Mittweida, with the participation of two IHTA staff members and three students.

Junge DEGA is a section of the German Acoustical Society (DEGA) and partner of the Young Acousticians Network (YAN) of the European Acoustics Association (EAA). Its mission is to connect students, PhDs and young professionals in the domain of acoustics. The group organizes special sessions and panel discussions during the Annual German Conference on Acoustics (DAGA), providing information on research opportunities and job entry. Furthermore, junge DEGA offers a mentoring program with active participation from industry and academia.

On Friday morning, the program started at the Neurobiology Department at Leipzig University, where two experimental setups from the field of neuroacoustics could be viewed and tested. The first experiment was dedicated to auditory distance perception, the second experiment was set up in an anechoic chamber and examined the localization of sound sources using a loudspeaker array. Afterwards, SINUS Messtechnik organized a workshop on measuring sound intensity. This was followed in the afternoon by a guided tour of the Gewandhaus Leipzig, which focused on the history of the building and the orchestra. The day concluded with a visit to a concert by the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

On Saturday, the program continued in Mittweida with a visit of the media center at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. The participants gained insights into the recording and mixing studios, the acoustics laboratories and the university’s radio station 99drei. This was followed by a workshop on wiki.audio, an open platform on which volunteers contribute their expertise on audio and acoustics topics. In this workshop, the participants wrote their own articles and developed concepts for cross-linking and further enhancing the content, for example through educational walks or the integration of external resources such as the interactive Comsol apps from the Technical University of Munich (https://apps.vib.ed.tum.de). The day’s last activity was a visit to the Mittweida town church, where the participants had the opportunity to see how an organ looks from the inside.

On Sunday, we enjoyed brunch together during a chat with Annika Neidhardt about her career path and current developments in acoustics. To conclude the weekend, we had a group meeting of the junge DEGA section where we discussed a revision of internal guidelines as well as planned activities during the DAS/DAGA conference 2025 in Copenhagen

Thanks to all participants, organizers and supporters!