Prof. Dr. Dieter Rombach studied mathematics and computer science at the University of Karlsruhe and obtained his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Kaiserslautern (1984). Since October 2018, he has been a Senior Research Professor at the University of Kaiserslautern. Prior to that, he held the Software Engineering Chair in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Kaiserslautern from 1992. In addition, he is Founding Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE in Kaiserslautern, whose Executive Director he was from 1996 to 2014. In 2018, Prof. Rombach was appointed the first Chief Digital Officer of the City of Kaiserslautern.
Previous career steps included positions as a faculty member of the computer science department at the University of Maryland (1984-1991), as visiting professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and as visiting faculty member various at the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, Nara Institute of Technology, Nara, Japan, and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Prof. Rombach‘s research interests are in the area of “software engineering”, particularly in engineering-style methods for the development of software with predictable quality; and empirical methods for the measurement of software products and processes for the purpose of project management and quality assurance.
Prof. Rombach is the author of app. 250 scientific publications. In 1990 he received the “NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award”; in 2000 the Service Medal of his Home State of Rhineland-Palatinate; in 2003 the Distinguished Postdoctoral Award of the University of Maryland; in 2009 the Federal Cross of Merit of Germany and a honorary doctoral degree from the University of Oulu, Finland; and in 2013 the Fraunhofer Medal .
Prof. Rombach is co-editor of several international journals and has served as a program committee and general chair of numerous international conferences. He is a Fellow of both IEEE Computer Society (since 2003) and ACM (since 2010).