Dr Gerco Ballintijn (b. 1972) embarked on his academic journey at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where he earned an MSc in Computer Science in August 1996. Shortly thereafter, in October of that same year, he joined Professor Andrew Tanenbaum’s Computer Systems group as a research assistant—a role he held until April 2003. During this time, Gerco focused on designing and implementing a scalable wide-area location service as part of the Globe project. In October 2003, he successfully defended his dissertation and was awarded his PhD.
From July 2003 to June 2006, Gerco moved to the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI), working under Professor Paul Klint in the SEN1 group. There, he specialised in the release, delivery and deployment of product software, helping to bring research prototypes into real-world use.
After his academic stint, Gerco ventured into industry. Among his projects was the development of client software for the Dutch Landelijk Patiëntendossier (LPD). He also crafted interactive 3D graphics solutions for retail and real-estate businesses, and contributed to ERP systems.
Beyond 3D computer graphics, Gerco’s passions lie in the technical heart of software engineering—building tools to aid development, comprehension and modernisation—as well as in more system-oriented realms such as distributed systems, programming languages and computer security.
