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Maik Wolleben

Proprietor

Maik began his academic journey in physics and radio astronomy, earning a PhD at the Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany. He then served as a visiting scientist at CSIRO, Australia and later received the Covington fellowship at the Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics in Canada. Maik's endeavors took him to Cape Town, South Africa, where he contributed to the development of the first prototype of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope in the Karroo desert. During this period, he also delved into geology. His diverse interests subsequently led him to the University of Calgary, where he focused on space physics in the role of a radar research scientist. Maik later founded Skaha Labs, specializing in Earth remote sensing.

Throughout his life, Maik has been passionate about electronics and mechanics. His professional journey equipped him with skills in RF circuitry, FPGA coding, and antenna design. At Skaha Labs, he further ventured into 3D printing, metal fabrication, and PCB assembly. For Maik, fieldwork, testing new sensors, and data collection have always been among the most fulfilling aspects of his work.

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Education

2014-Present

Founder

Skaha Remote Sensing Ltd.

At Skaha Labs, my role covers everything from business development to engineering, coding, and the scientific validation of geophysical data, with much of my expertise developed on-the-fly.

2013-2014

Radar Research Scientist

University of Calgary

Overseeing the strategic direction and daily operations of the Resolute Bay Incoherent Scatter Radar (RISR-C), which is located in the Canadian high arctic.

2011-2013

Senior Commissioning Scientist
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Africa

Development of calibration routines and execution of test observations with a 7-element interferometer located in the Karoo desert in South Africa.

2008-2011

Research Assistant (Covington Fellow) National Research Council Canada

Academic research on the magnetic field of our galaxy and interstellar medium.

First-Author, Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • Wolleben, M., “The Global Magneto-ionic Medium Survey: A Faraday Depth Survey of the Northern Sky Covering 1280-1750 MHz”, The Astronomical Journal, vol. 162, no. 1, 2021. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/abf7c1

  • Wolleben, M., “The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey: Polarimetry of the Southern Sky from 300 to 480 MHz”, The Astronomical Journal, vol. 158, no. 1, 2019. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab22b0

  • Wolleben, M., “Antisymmetry in the Faraday Rotation Sky Caused by a Nearby Magnetized Bubble”, The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 724, no. 1, pp. L48–L52, 2010. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/724/1/L48

  • Wolleben, M., “Rotation Measure Synthesis of Galactic Polarized Emission with the DRAO 26-m Telescope”, The Astronomical Journal, vol. 139, no. 4, pp. 1681–1690, 2010. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/139/4/1681

  • Wolleben, M., “A New Model for the Loop I (North Polar Spur) Region”, The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 664, no. 1, pp. 349–356, 2007. doi:10.1086/518711

  • Wolleben, M., Landecker, T. L., Reich, W., and Wielebinski, R., “An absolutely calibrated survey of polarized emission from the northern sky at 1.4 GHz. Observations and data reduction”, Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 448, no. 1, pp. 411–424, 2006. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053851

  • Wolleben, M. and Reich, W., “Faraday screens associated with local molecular clouds”, Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 427, pp. 537–548, 2004. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20040561

Other Important Publications (Contributing Author)

  • Agyeman, B. T., “Maximizing soil moisture estimation accuracy through simultaneous hydraulic parameter estimation using microwave remote sensing: Methodology and application”, arXiv e-prints, 2023. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2305.15549

  • Du, X., Landecker, T. L., Robishaw, T., Gray, A. D., Douglas, K. A., and Wolleben, M., “Gain and Polarization Properties of a Large Radio Telescope from Calculation and Measurement: The John A. Galt Telescope”, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 128, no. 969, p. 115006, 2016. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/128/969/115006
  • Foley, A. R., “Engineering and science highlights of the KAT-7 radio telescope”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 460, no. 2, pp. 1664–1679, 2016. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw1040
  • Mao, S. A., “Magnetic Field Structure of the Large Magellanic Cloud from Faraday Rotation Measures of Diffuse Polarized Emission”, The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 759, no. 1, 2012. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/759/1/25
  • Gaensler, B. M., “The Magnetic Field of the Large Magellanic Cloud Revealed Through Faraday Rotation”, Science, vol. 307, no. 5715, pp. 1610–1612, 2005. doi:10.1126/science.1108832
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