Gergely Baics

Gergely Baics is an Associate Professor of History and Urban Studies at Barnard College, serving as Helman Endowed Faculty Chair of Urban Studies and Faculty Co-Director of the Barnard Empirical Reasoning Center. He holds a joint appointment between the History Department and Urban Studies Program, with collaborative ties to Columbia University's History Department and the Center for Spatial Research at GSAPP. His research focuses on spatial and urban history, digital public history, and 19th-century U.S. economic and social dynamics. Notable projects include the Envisioning Seneca Village 3D digital model and the Mapping Historical New York spatial atlas.

Education: B.A. (2002) and M.A. (2003) from ELTE University and Central European University in Budapest; M.A. and Ph.D. (2009) in History from Northwestern University. His work has been supported by grants from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Max Weber Fellowship.

Research interests emphasize urban food systems, spatial analysis of historical patterns, and digital methods. His book Feeding Gotham (2016) was recognized as one of the Financial Times' Best History Books. Current projects explore 19th-century urban peripheries and Indigenous urban systems in colonial Spanish America.

Awards include Barnard's Gladys Brooks Teaching Award and a CaGIS Map Design Competition win. Courses taught include transnational urban history, New York City history, and spatial history methodologies. Collaborative efforts involve multidisciplinary teams across institutions, focusing on public-facing digital history projects.