Using the latest technology, QUADLab's mission is to produce a robust chronological framework, through the dating of rocks and minerals, to enable a better understanding of critical events in the Earth's history. Much of the emphasis of this work is on the Quaternary period (the past 2 million years), a time of dramatic climate and evolutionary change, that includes the emergence of modern humankind.

Current research includes (i) the study of past climates, including ancient greenhouse warming events (ii) hominin evolution and dispersal (iii) geohazards such as landslides and ash dispersal associated with explosive volcanic eruptions (iv) EARTHTIME - an international effort to improve the accuracy and precision of the Geological Timescale, including the intercalibration of astronomical and radio-isotopic dating methods.