Simone Gingrich

Simone Gingrich is a Professor for Environmental History and Deputy Head of the Institute of Social Ecology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna. Her career spans faculty roles including Assoc.Prof. Social Ecology (2023) and Visiting Research Affiliate at Central European University (2023). Key affiliations include the European Commission, Austrian Academy of Sciences, and FWF.

• 2025: Professor for Environmental History
• 2023: Assoc.Prof. Social Ecology
• 2020: Habilitation in Social Ecology

Her research focuses on long-term socio-ecological transitions, material environmental history, and climate change mitigation. She applies socio-metabolic accounting to analyze historical land use, biomass flows, and carbon dynamics across local to global scales. Key projects include Forest Transitions in Southeast Asia, Global Land-Use Data Cubes, and Household GHG Footprints in Austria.

Recent publications analyze climate-optimal forest use, agricultural emissions, and global land systems. Her 15 most recent works span climate policy, forest carbon dynamics, agroecological transitions, and historical land use, with keywords in Environmental Science, Climate Change, and Forest Ecology. She collaborates with institutions like European Geosciences Union and Stockholm Environment Institute.

• 2017: ERC Starting Grant
• 2010: Award of Excellence

She leads funded research under EU, FWF, and ÖAW, with grants including HEFT - Hidden Emissions of Forest Transitions (2018-2024) and The Industrialization of Austrian Forests (2024-2027). Her work bridges academia and policy through the APCC Assessment Reports and Global Land Programme initiatives.