Simone Gingrich is senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Social Ecology Vienna, Alpen-Adria University, and member of the Center for Environmental History (ZUG), Vienna. She holds a master degree in ecology (Vienna University) and a PhD in Social Ecology (Alpen-Adria University). Her research contributes to a biophysical reading of industrialization processes in Europe. She studies environmental and sustainability problems of the past and present by applying various quantitative indicators to historical time periods. Her work is inspired by the idea that today’s sustainability problems can only be adequately tackled if understood in their historical context.