Shuhai Xiao is a paleontologist and professor of geobiology at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
Early life Xiao attended Taihe Middle School in Jiangxi Province, China. He received a B.Sc. degree and an M.Sc. degree from Peking University in 1988 and 1991, both in geology. He then worked as an assistant researcher in the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for two years. He earned a Ph.D. degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University in 1998.
Career Xiao worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University in 1998–2000 and an assistant professor in the Department of Geology at Tulane University in 2000–2003. In 2003, he moved to Virginia Tech, serving as an Assistant Professor (2003–2005), Associate Professor (2005–2008), and Full Professor (2008–present) in the department of Geosciences. From 2012 to 2020, Xiao served as the chair of the Subcommission on Ediacaran Stratigraphy, International Commission on Stratigraphy. Xiao was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2023.
Research Xiao studies the interactions between the biosphere and its environment during key transition periods in Earth's history, particularly the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition. He has published extensively on Ediacaran stratigraphy and paleobiology in South China, particularly the Doushantuo, Lantian, and Dengying formations. He is interested in Precambrian microbial world, the fossil record of eukaryotes, multicellular algae, the Ediacara biota, the early evolution of animals, and exceptional fossil preservation.
Awards and honors 2023, ICS Medalist, International Commission on Stratigraphy 2023, Member, Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine 2023, Member, National Academy of Sciences 2021, NAS Award in the Evolution of Earth and Life - Mary Clark Thompson Medal 2019, Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2019, Patricia Caldwell Faculty Fellow, College of Science, Virginia Tech 2017, Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award 2016, Visiting Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa Society 2015, Fellow, Geological Society of America 2010, Guggenheim Fellowship 2010, Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in Research 2007, Fellow, Paleontological Society 2006, Paleontological Society Charles Schuchert Award
External links Sandeep Ravindran: Profile of Shuhai Xiao. PNAS. Vol. 121 (47), November 2024, e2420366121. doi:10.1073/pnas.2420366121.
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