Leadership & Service
Prof. Backes' leadership spans international observatory governance, strategic development of African astronomy, science policy, and scientific societies.
He is a member of the Collaboration Board and Steering Committee of the H.E.S.S. Telescopes since 2015 and also serves on the Steering Committee of the IAU Southern African Regional Office of Astronomy for Development. In the same year, he initiated the Africa Millimetre Telescope and has since spearheaded its creation as Co-PI and member of the Collaboration Board.
Further, from 2019–2021, he was a member of the South African SALT Time Allocation Committee (SASTAC), which he chaired from 2020 onwards. In 2021/22 and 2022/23, he was elected a Member of the Executive Committee of the Global Young Academy, of which he had previously co-led the Constitutional and Legal Committee from 2018–2021.
Recently, he has been an active contributor to the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP), mandated by the African Physical Society and endorsed and supported by UNESCO as well as to the South African National Strategy for Multi Wavelength Astronomy 2025–2035.
Currently, he serves on the Science Committee of the African Astronomical Society and has been ministerially appointed a member to the Namibian National Steering Committee responsible for drafting the Namibian Space Science and Technology Bill.
Since 2014, Prof. Backes has been serving on the Executive Board of the Namibia Scientific Society, with 100 years, the oldest scientific institution in Namibia. From 2015–2023 he did so as Vice-Chairperson and, since 2023, he has been serving as Chairperson. He revitalized the society's strategic direction by spearheading major modernization efforts, including the recent centenary celebrations. Also under his Chairmanship, the society was awarded Namibia's inaugural National Science Excellence Award for Science Communication and Public Engagement in 2026.