Joachim Schimpf has worked on combinatorial optimization software for over 20 years. He is interested in the solution of concrete application problems that are ubiquitous in industry, but also in the design and implementation of generic software systems that support this solution process.

He has worked as a researcher and a consultant for academic and commercial organizations in Europe, America and Australia.

Since 1995 he has overseen the development of the ECLiPSe Constraint Logic Programming platform, a widely appreciated software system that addresses the challenges of combinatorial optimization. ECLiPSe was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2004, and subsequently open-sourced.