A. Gabriel von Roda is a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research focuses on Chinese economic history. He has been a visiting fellow at Harvard’s Committee on Regional Studies. From 2010-2012, he will be a visiting researcher at Zhejiang University on a Chinese Scholarship Council grant. In parallel to his research, Gabriel works as a social entrepreneur co-directing a small company that produces sustainable and affordable construction technology in Sri Lanka. He also acts as an adviser to the Colombo-based Mahatma Gandhi Centre. His experience includes work with Chatham House, the German Mission to the UN as well as a local humanitarian NGO offering post Tsunami assistance in Sri Lanka. Gabriel holds an MSc in Economic History from LSE and a BA in Politics, South East Asian Studies and Mandarin from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.