Schäfer's research focuses on the development of efficient algorithms for complex optimisation problems, specifically in economic environments. His research is fundamental in nature, but also takes into account various aspects of practical importance, such as: computational efficiency, reliable solution quality, strategic behavior, lack of coordination, incomplete information and data uncertainty. The results of his research are applied in, for example, traffic and network routing, logistics and transport, planning and auctions. Schäfer often works with industrial partners to solve challenging practical optimisation issues. In addition, Schäfer has taught PhD, Master’s and Bachelor’s courses at both the UvA and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) for many years.

As professor by special appointment, Schäfer will focus on further promoting research, education and student supervision activities at the interface of Economics and Computation. He will also contribute to the educational programme of the UvA’s Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), as well as partner institutes and national PhD and Master's programmes.

About Guido Schäfer

Schäfer has been affiliated with the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands, since 2009. Since 2016, he has been the leader of their Networks and Optimisation group. From 2010 to 2020, he was professor by special appointment of Algorithmic Game Theory at the VU. He was previously head of the independent research group ‘Discrete Optimisation’ at the DFG Research Center MATHEON at TU Berlin. Schäfer is also chairman of the Landelijk Netwerk Mathematische Besliskunde (Dutch Network on the Mathematics of Operations Research).