The Quark Lab

A deep intellectual curiosity drives our lab to explore how emerging technologies—especially location analytics, GeoAI, and machine learning—can solve real-world problems. It’s a place where creativity meets rigor, and we pursue questions that excite us while mentoring graduate students eager to push the limits of research and innovation. We do all this with passion, collaboration, and a healthy dose of fun along the way. 

The lab benefits from members' backgrounds in Experimental Particle Physics, Computer Science, Information Systems, and Geography, where the focus is always on precision and solving complex challenges. This experience gives our work a solid technical foundation to blend our technical expertise to make a real-world impact. This combination enables us to develop innovative research methods that advance science and provide practical solutions to pressing issues.

At our lab, we are passionate about using GeoAI and machine learning to address real-world challenges that matter. One of our core efforts tackles homelessness, not just as a statistic, but as a deeply human crisis. We are building predictive models that blend satellite imagery with socioeconomic and behavioral data to identify communities at risk. Our goal is to provide early-warning tools that help policymakers and service providers intervene more effectively and equitably, ensuring that support reaches the people who need it most, when they need it.

In a separate line of work, we are applying our geospatial and AI expertise to national security. In partnership with the Department of Defense and the Irregular Warfare Center, we are leading a project titled GeoAI-Driven Analysis of Airspace Vulnerabilities Against Unauthorized Drone Activity. Focusing on the U.S.-Mexico border, we are using satellite imagery, terrain analysis, and open-source intelligence to map areas where small drones may pose a threat. It’s an effort to move from reactive to proactive defense, helping frontline agencies anticipate drone incursions before they happen. 

We are also looking at public safety through the lens of social media. In a project aimed at predicting gun violence, we analyze geolocated Twitter data alongside demographic and socioeconomic indicators to detect patterns of risk. Using natural language processing and GIS, we are exploring how online signals can serve as early indicators of violence in vulnerable communities. The hope is to empower local leaders and law enforcement with insights that lead to smarter, more targeted interventions. 

Geo-medicine combines geographic information with clinical data to uncover how location-based factors—such as pollution, neighborhood safety, green space access, or proximity to health services—impact mental health outcomes. By mapping and analyzing these spatial influences, we are developing an ML model to identify at-risk populations to help design targeted interventions and inform place-based mental health policies.

On the educational front, we are experimenting with how AI can transform learning. At the W. P. Carey School of Business, we are building a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework that brings together large language models and academic content to deliver tailored support to students and faculty. Whether it’s clarifying course material, offering feedback, or generating personalized study aids, we see this as a step toward a more interactive, intelligent, and student-centered classroom experience.

Across all these projects, our mission is clear: to use geospatial data and AI not just to solve problems, but to improve lives—whether that means helping someone off the street, keeping communities safe, or making learning more accessible. We are driven by the belief that technology, when guided by empathy and insight, can make a real difference.