Benjamin Winkel

Benjamin Winkel is a Scientific Staff member at the Radio Observatory Effelsberg, part of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. He holds a PhD in astronomy from the University of Bonn (2009) and has been working at the observatory since 2011. His expertise includes spectroscopic measurements and spectrum management for radio astronomy.

His research focuses on radio astronomy, spectroscopy, and radio frequency interference mitigation. He leads the Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey project, which maps neutral hydrogen distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. For this project, he developed specialized data processing software and created the pycraf Python package for spectrum-management compatibility studies.

Since 2015, Dr. Winkel has been responsible for spectrum management issues, protecting radio telescope measurements from human-made radio transmissions. He coordinates with industry and government representatives at national and international levels. Since 2021, he chairs the Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF) of the European Science Foundation.