Markus Raffel received his degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1990 from the Technical University of Karlsruhe, his doctorate in Engineering in 1993 from the University of Hannover and his lecturer qualification (Habilitation) from the Technical University Clausthal, in 2001. He started working on PIV at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 1991 with emphasis on the development of PIV recording techniques in high-speed flows. In this process he applied the method to a number of aerodynamic problems mainly in the context of rotorcraft investigations. Markus Raffel additionally works on the development of other flow metrology like the background-oriented schlieren technique (BOS) and the differential infrared thermography (DIT). He is professor at the Leibniz University of Hannover and head of the Department of Helicopters at DLR's Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology in Göttingen.