Vowinkel, Bernd
Dr. Bernd Vowinkel, physicist
Bernd Vowinkel, born in 1947 in Alsfeld, Germany, studied communications engineering in Giessen. After two years as an engineer at an ESA satellite ground station in southern Belgium he studied physics and astronomy at the universities of Giessen and Bonn. From 1981 to 2010 he was employed as a scientist at the University of Cologne Institute of Physics. During this time he was mainly involved in the development of microwave reception systems for radio astronomy, molecular spectroscopy, plasma research, and earth exploration. He was involved in the defining phase of the satellite project "Herschel" (submillimeter wave space telescope).
In 2006 he published a popular science book on the future of artificial intelligence (title: "Maschinen mit Bewusstsein" - "Machines with Consciousness"). Through this book and a number of other publications and lectures he is considered one of the best-known advocates for transhumanism in the German-speaking world. He is a founding member of the German Transhuman Party (TPD). Since 2006 he has been an active member of the Giordano Bruno Stiftung and has published a number of articles in the Humanistischer Pressedienst (hpd - Humanistic Press Service). Furthermore he is co-founder of the gbs regional group Cologne. From early 2012 to early 2015 he was one of three elected gbs regional group coordinators.
Publications (selection):
- Wissen statt Glauben! Das Weltbild des neuen Humanismus, 2018
- Auf dem Weg zum Transhumanismus? In: Helmut Fink (ed.): Der neue Humanismus, wissenschaftliches Menschenbild und säkulare Ethik, 2010
- Die Endlichkeit des wissenschaftlichen Fortschritts. In: Wiley-VCH Verlag (ed.): Expedition in die Wissenschaft, Sach- und Spaßgeschichten aus Physik und Astronomie, 2006
- Maschinen mit Bewusstsein, wohin führt die künstliche Intelligenz?, 2006
- Passive Mikrowellenradiometrie, 1988
- Technische Grundlagen der Radioastronomie, 1982 (with Prof. O. Hachenberg)
In addition, Bernd Vowinkel has published almost 80 academic articles.