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Nanjing Institute of Geologyand PalaeontologyPreserving Tradition While Exploring New Frontiers

Chinese Academy of Sciences, including three current faculty members.In addition to its stellar faculty, the institute boasts the largest profes-sional library for palaeontology and stratigraphy in Asia, with journal col-lections dating back to the 1770s; a collection of 160,000 type specimens(fossils that define a species or subspecies); and a research station insouthwest China’s Yunnan Province. As home to China’s only State KeyLaboratory for palaeontology and stratigraphy (see sidebar on the nextpage), the institute has an array of modern research instruments.

WIDE-RANGING RESEARCH EXPERTISEThe breadth of palaeontological and stratigraphical research carried outat NIGPAS is unparalleled; its strengths include studies of the early evo-lution of life, palaeobotany, ecosystem reconstruction, the transition fromsea-based to land-based life forms, mass extinctions, and the co-evolu-tion of life and environment. “We have a large group of specialists cover-ing nearly all the geological history of life on earth, and covering nearlyall the organism groups, so this is a big treasure,” Yang says. NIGPAS’sstructure and range of expertise give it the unique capability to assem-ble diverse research groups to work on the same site at the same timeand combine their data into a comprehensive study. Some examples ofNIGPAS’s research accomplishments include:• NIGPAS scientists have been instrumental in building evidencefor the theory of the Cambrian explosion, the period of explosiveevolutionary radiation during which most modern phyla arose. Re-cently, NIGPAS research has suggested that the pressures of pre-dation might have fueled the explosion by driving the evolution ofprotective skeletons.• Researchers at NIGPAS found and described a cache of EdiacaranPeriod embryos, some of the earliest animal fossils ever studied.• This year, a team led byNIGPAS researchers reported their discoveryof eukaryotes from the early Ediacaran period, demonstrating thatcomplex organisms evolved sooner than was previously thoughtpossible.• Stratigraphy researchers at NIGPAS painstakingly study strata todefine the precise boundaries between geologic eras to help con-struct the time scale that is the basis of geology and palaeontology.One major goal is to establish additional Global Boundary Strato-type Sections and Points (GSSPs), internationally recognized refer-ence sites for boundaries. Of the 67 GSSPs so far approved by theInternational Committee on Stratigraphy, seven were established byresearchers at NIGPAS.• The institute’s palaeobotanists carry out both systematic researchand multidisciplinary reconstructions of the original ecological com-munities at palaeontological sites. Their key findings include thecomplete reconstruction of a Mesozoic ancestor of modern ginkgotrees. The plant was a missing link between Jurassic-era flora andmodern ginkgoes, and its discovery helped clarify the evolutionarytransition between bifurcated and fused leaves.

The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s leadingcenters for invertebrate palaeontology and palaeobotany, observes its 60th anniversary this year. The institute hasmuch to celebrate in its rich history of groundbreaking discoveries and academic distinctions. Its strengths includea large faculty with diverse expertise, close ties with colleagues around the world, information and fossil resourcesbuilt up by generations of researchers, and China’s rich natural endowment of fossil records.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

60th Anniversary Celebration

Nanjing, located less than two hours from Shanghai by high-speed train, has a long and storied history. It has periodicallyserved as China’s capital, most recently from 1927–1949under the Republic of China government. The modern citystill holds many reminders of its past, including stretches of

ancient city wall and an ancient Buddhist temple, which sits adjacent tothe Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy ofSciences (NIGPAS).NIGPAS’s own history began in 1928, when one of its predecessors,

the Ching-Ming-Ssu campus of the Academia Sinica, was founded inNanjing. Later on, China’s National Geology Survey was also moved toNanjing. In 1951, the palaeontology departments from these two insti-tutes were combined and reborn as the Institute of Palaeontology, a labo-ratory of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences. (NIGPAS received its currentname in the 1970s.) While the institute’s main purpose was initially practi-cal—to help the new government locate energy resources—importantbasic research has also been carried out from the beginning. “The pio-neering generations of scientists contributed tremendously and were re-markably influential to the provincial geological surveys throughout Chinaand to explorations of oil, gas, coal, and sedimentary mineral resources,”notes Qun Yang, director of NIGPAS. Among their contributions, the earlyresearchers compiled charts of the region’s geological strata, and atlasesshowing the locations of different fossil types.Even during China’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and

'70s, when universities shut down and academics were sometimes sentto work in the fields, research at NIGPAS continued, notes Yang. In fact,he says, at that time “a mega-project on palaeontological and stratigraph-ic investigation near the Mt. Qomolangma region in southern Tibet wasorganized together with other natural scientists in the Chinese Academyof Sciences, laying down the foundation for further geological research inTibet.” (Stratigraphy is the study of rock layers.)Although China was relatively isolated during NIGPAS’s early years,

researchers there were still able to collaborate with scientists from othersocialist countries. Since China’s opening in the late 1970s, the institute’sscientists have forged strong links with colleagues around the world, thusensuring that their research is up to international standards. Hundredsof scholars from abroad now visit NIGPAS each year, and the institutein turn sends many students and faculty abroad for study, meetings, andto seek collaborations (see Education on next page). The institute alsofrequently hosts its own international conferences. NIGPAS’s facultyhave taken on the roles of chairman, vice-chairman, and voting memberin the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the InternationalPalaeontological Association.The institute now has 160 faculty and staff members, including experts

for nearly every type of invertebrate animal and plant fossil. Its research-ers have published more than 8,000 research papers in the past 60years, characterizing in excess of 1,500 new genera and 12,000 newspecies. Thirteen NIGPAS scientists have been elected to the prestigious


The Chinese Academy of Sciences funded a newLaboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy(LPS) at NIGPAS in 1989. In 2001, LPS was madea State Key Laboratory by the Ministry of Scienceand Technology of China, meaning that it receivesstable research funding from the ministry, andis tasked with carrying out top-quality research

STATE KEY LABORATORY OF PALAEOBIOLOGY AND STRATIGRAPHYwhile providing access to state-of-the-art instruments for scientistsvisiting from other institutions worldwide.LPS boasts a “dream team” of 34 accomplished scientists who

represent a broad range of specialties, says Shuzhong Shen, headof LPS. During LPS’s two-decade history they have published morethan 1000 research papers, including 13 in Science, and have wonnumerous national prizes.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE“The disciplinary breadth of the teams in the institute is its core strength,and maintaining that advantage while cultivating new frontiers for our sci-ence is considered the top priority for the institute,” says Director Yang.“We are able to undertake not only large-scale investigations of biologi-cal evolution and the Earth’s evolution using fossils, geochemistry, andsedimentology, but also to explore a number of new frontiers. We tryto use the methods of geochemistry and molecular biology to combinestudies of the ‘tree of life’ and the fossil record.” By doing this, research-ers can figure out where extinct organisms belong on the tree of lifeand when branching occurred from a species giving rise to two or moredescendents.In exploring those new frontiers, scientists at NIGPAS have an advan-

tage over their colleagues in most other countries: China’s impressivegeological diversity. Several tectonic plates comprise the country’s land,and as a result, it has a rich variety of palaeontological fauna. At one

site, near the Yangtze, NIGPAS researchers found strata that consti-tuted “preserved complete records, maybe the best in existence, fromthe Neoproterozoic through the Palaeozoic and part of the Mesozoicera, covering more than 400 million years of continuous, uninterruptedrecords of marine sediments,” Yang says. China’s recent construc-tion boom has also helped palaeontologists by exposing potential newstudy sites.In the near future, Yang says, NIGPAS will establish a new unit for

applied palaeontology, which will focus on resource exploration. At thesame time, he says, the institute will continue its strong tradition of basicresearch by emphasizing the study of Precambrian and Phaenerozoicevolutionary events, establishing more GSSPs, upgrading its fossil col-lections and curation practices to become the region’s center for inverte-brate and plant fossil collections, increasing the number of researchersby at least 20%, and stepping up recruitment of international graduatestudents and postdocs.

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EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACHIn the late 1970s, NIGPAS was among the first institutions in mainland China to be accredited tooffer graduate degrees in palaeontology, stratigraphy, and geobiology. Today, the institute’s graduatestudents receive broad education in these areas aswell as a strong grounding in fieldwork techniques.Postdocs and visiting researchers also come to the institute for training, as do Nanjing University

undergraduates. In recent years, NIGPAS has launched an array of public education initiatives: awebsite, Fossil Web (www.uua.cn/english); a magazine, Life and Evolution; the Nanjing Museumof Palaeontology; and public lectures. In 2009, Fossil Web won the World Summit Award in thee-Science category.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Xunlai YuanHeadMicropalaeontology

Renbin ZhanHeadInvertebratePalaeontology

Jun WangHeadPalaeobotany &Palynology

Xiangdong WangChairmanAcademic Committee

Huaicheng ZhuChairmanDegree Committee

Shuzhong ShenHeadState KeyLaboratory

Qun YangDirectorNIGPAS

Museum of Palaeontology

Type Specimen Repository

“Promote active innovation while preservingour traditional merits. Always strive for theheights of palaeontology and stratigraphy.”— Chunli Bai, president of CAS, May 2011,Celebrating NIGPAS's 60th Anniversary

Fossil of Sinosauropteryx


MAIN RESEARCH AREAS AT NIGPASNanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academyof Sciences (NIGPAS), maintains active research programs in thefollowing areas:

• The Origin and Evolution of Early Life on Earth• Evolutionary Palaeontology• Chronostratigraphy• Systematic Palaeontology• Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography, and Palaeoclimatology• Molecular Palaeobiology• Geobiology• Co-evolution of Life and Environment• Applied Palaeontology and Stratigraphy

Our research staff strives to organize joint research projects and otheracademic activities with scientists from around the world. Internationalcollaborations are strongly promoted and encouraged in these scientificareas as well as related disciplines in research, education, infrastructuralbuilding, and public outreach.

M.S., PH.D., AND POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAMSNIGPAS offers M.S. and Ph.D. degree-granting programs and a postdoc-toral program in palaeontology, stratigraphy, and geobiology. Graduatestudents who are interested in applying are required to take specializedtests designed by the institute in addition to national examinations.The postdoctoral program is open to young scientists worldwide

who are interested in collaborating with NIGPAS’s research staffand furthering their professional training in one of the institute’s mainresearch areas. Interested applicants may contact individual researchstaff members or our International Office for more information (seecontact information below).

FELLOWSHIPS FOR VISITING SCIENTISTSTwo types of fellowships, which are primarily funded by the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (CAS), are available for overseas scientiststo conduct research at NIGPAS: visiting professorships for seniorinternational scientists and fellowships for young internationalscientists. In addition, there are visiting programs specifically foryoung scholars who are based in Taiwan or in developing countries.For more information contact our International Office or visit the CASwebsite: english.bic.cas.cn/AF/Fe.

CONTACT INFORMATIONInternational Office

Nanjing Institute of Geologyand Palaeontology, CAS

No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, Chinawww.nigpas.cas.cn or english.nigpas.cas.cn

Phone: +86 25 83282105Fax: +86 25 83357026

E-mail: [email protected]


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