He received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 1996. He currently serves as the director of Centre-in-Europe in Strasbourg, France. He specializes in modern European history and the Industrial Revolution and regularly teaches courses in these areas. His publications include a book on poverty in world history, to be published by Routledge Press, as well as numerous scholarly essays in academic journals. Most recently, his article on Current Debates in the Study of the Industrial Revolution was published in the Organization of American Historians Fall 2000 issue.