Benjamin Jurke

Benjamin Jurke has extensive work experience in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to industrial automation. Benjamin has served as the Head of Machine Learning at Beckhoff Automation since 2017, leading the design and development of the company's TwinCAT Machine Learning and Neural Network products. In this role, they have successfully integrated ML/AI techniques into the real-time control loop for motion control and online condition monitoring systems. Benjamin was also recognized with the Beckhoff-internal technology "Hermann" award in 2018. Prior to this, Jurke worked as a Machine Learning Lead at Beckhoff Automation from 2017 to 2023. In addition to their industry experience, they have served as a Part-time Lecturer at Fachhochschule Bielefeld from 2022 to 2023. Before joining Beckhoff Automation, they were the Head of Research at DMG MORI from 2014 to 2017, where they managed research collaborations focused on IIoT and Industry 4.0 solutions. Benjamin also worked as the Coordinator of Innovation Projects at DMG MORI from 2012 to 2013, overseeing projects related to adaptive CNC simulation and production scheduling cloud platforms.

Benjamin Jurke received their Abitur from Ratsgymnasium Wiedenbrück in 2002. Benjamin then pursued their higher education at Bielefeld University, where they obtained a Diplom-Physiker (M.Sc.) in Physics in 2007 and a Diplom-Mathematiker (M.Sc.) in Mathematics in 2008. Benjamin furthered their studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, earning a Dr. rer. nat (PhD) in Mathematical Physics from 2008 to 2011. Benjamin also pursued postdoctoral research in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics at Northeastern University and the Max Planck Institute for Physics from 2011 to 2012. In 2016, they obtained a Machine Learning certification from Coursera Course Certificates. Benjamin later pursued additional education outside their academic field, completing Nanodegree programs in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Software Engineering, and Deep Reinforcement Learning at Udacity from 2017 to 2018. Finally, Benjamin obtained an Executive MBA in Business Administration and Management from the University of Münster between 2019 and 2022.