People

QuantLab
People

The QuantLab brings together principal investigators Dr. Erik Otárola-Castillo and Dr. Benjamin Schoville with postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, undergraduate research assistants, and collaborators working across scientific and quantitative anthropology, archaeology, and computational methods.

Scroll to meet current lab leadership, team members, collaborators, and former members connected to QuantLab research and mentoring.

Principal Investigators

Erik Otárola-Castillo
Principal Investigator
Erik Otárola-Castillo, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Anthropology at Purdue. Research in quantitative anthropology, AI, Bayesian inference, morphometrics, zooarchaeology, hunter-gatherer ecology, and computational methods.

Ben Schoville
Principal Investigator
Ben Schoville, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Anthropology at Purdue. Research in quantitative anthropology, AI, Stone Age archaeology, late Pleistocene technological innovation, lithic analysis, field archaeology, and comparative quantitative methods.

Team Members

Current postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate researchers, and collaborators associated with QuantLab projects.

Annual lab photo

Postdoctoral Researcher

Andrew Van Horn
Postdoctoral Researcher
Andrew Van Horn, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral researcher in the lab. Biological anthropology, quantitative methods, phylogenetic inference, artificial intelligence, and cultural evolution.

Graduate Student Collaborator

Narges Khatoon Shoaibi Nobarian
Graduate Student Collaborator
Narges Khatoon Shoaibi Nobarian

Graduate student in Anthropology at Purdue University and collaborator with the QuantLab through Amanda Veile’s Labor Lab. Her interests include geometric morphometrics as a tool for quantifying shape variation and linking form to function.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Chase Peterson
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Chase Peterson

Undergraduate research assistant working with the QuantLab.

Ricky Wong
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ricky Wong

Undergraduate research assistant majoring in computer science and data science interested in AI and statistical inference, working with the QuantLab.

Xin Zhang
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Xin Zhang

Undergraduate research assistant majoring in Computer Science at Purdue University, with a focus on applying machine learning to lithic analysis.

Collaborators

Dr. Jacob A. Harris
Collaborator
Dr. Jacob A. Harris

Arizona State University.

HERI
Collaborating Institution
HERI

Human Evolution Research Institute

Dr. Matthew E. Hill
Collaborator
Dr. Matthew E. Hill

University of Iowa.

Dr. Edward J. Knell
Collaborator
Dr. Edward J. Knell

Cal State Fullerton.

NatGeo
Collaborating Institution
NatGeo

National Geographic Society

UniSQ
Collaborating Institution
UniSQ

UniSQ Centre for Heritage and Culture

Dr. Amanda Veile
Collaborator
Dr. Amanda Veile

Purdue University.

Vicus
Collaborating Institution
VICUS

VICUS Luminescence Dating

Lab Alumni

Former lab members, trainees, and collaborators connected to QuantLab research and mentoring.