me

My name is Xavier Rubio-Campillo and I’m a lecturer in Computational Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.

My background is rather unconventional; in a previous life I got a BSc in Computer Science at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and I worked in different research groups and IT companies. For extrange reasons (even to me) I decided to leave my job and start a PhD in the Humanities. I pursued my doctoral research at the University of Barcelona within the DIDPATRI research group where I explored how landscape affected XVIIIth century battles by integrating archaeological evidence, spatial analysis and written sources.

Before moving to Edinburgh in 2016 I worked as the Team Leader of the Humanities research group at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre. I participated in several interdisciplinary projects applying computational methods to improve our understanding of the past, such as SimulPast and EpNet.

research

My current research combines techniques from data science and computer modelling to explore how humans create, transmit and use culture. To achieve this goal I often work in transdisciplinary environments involving archaeologists, historians and computer scientists. I am also interested on developing new computational methods able to tackle the complexities of the past.

I am also interested in outreach and public engagement, and particularly on the use of videogames to promote scientific literacy such as Evolving Planet.

teaching

My courses aim at providing the quantitative tools that archaeologists need, including Geographical Information Systems, Statistics and Data Visualization.