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.[1]
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.[1] 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,[2][3][4][5]Lantian,[6] and
Dengying formations.[7][8] He is interested in Precambrian microbial world,[9][10][11] the fossil record of eukaryotes,[12][13][14][15] multicellular algae,[16][17][18][19] the
Ediacara biota,[20][21] the early evolution of animals,[22][23][24][25] and exceptional fossil preservation.[26][27]
^Xiao S (2013). "Written in Stone: The Fossil Record of Early Eukaryotes". In Trueba G, Montúfar C (eds.).
Evolution from the Galapagos. Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Springer New York. pp. 107–124.
doi:
10.1007/978-1-4614-6732-8_8.
ISBN978-1-4614-6731-1. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
^Xiao S, Laflamme M (January 2009). "On the eve of animal radiation: phylogeny, ecology and evolution of the Ediacara biota". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 24 (1): 31–40.
doi:
10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.015.
PMID18952316.
^Schiffbauer JD, Xiao S, Cai Y, Wallace AF, Hua H, Hunter J, et al. (December 2014). "A unifying model for Neoproterozoic-Palaeozoic exceptional fossil preservation through pyritization and carbonaceous compression". Nature Communications. 5 (1): 5754.
Bibcode:
2014NatCo...5.5754S.
doi:
10.1038/ncomms6754.
hdl:10919/80356.
PMID25517864.
S2CID205333365.
^Muscente AD, Schiffbauer JD, Broce J, Laflamme M, O'Donnell K, Boag TH, Meyer M, Hawkins AD, Huntley JW, McNamara M, MacKenzie LA, Stanley GD, Hinman NW, Hofmann MH, Xiao S (August 2017). "Exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages through geologic time and space". Gondwana Research. 48: 164–188.
Bibcode:
2017GondR..48..164M.
doi:
10.1016/j.gr.2017.04.020.
hdl:10919/81949.
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.[1]
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.[1] 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,[2][3][4][5]Lantian,[6] and
Dengying formations.[7][8] He is interested in Precambrian microbial world,[9][10][11] the fossil record of eukaryotes,[12][13][14][15] multicellular algae,[16][17][18][19] the
Ediacara biota,[20][21] the early evolution of animals,[22][23][24][25] and exceptional fossil preservation.[26][27]
^Xiao S (2013). "Written in Stone: The Fossil Record of Early Eukaryotes". In Trueba G, Montúfar C (eds.).
Evolution from the Galapagos. Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Springer New York. pp. 107–124.
doi:
10.1007/978-1-4614-6732-8_8.
ISBN978-1-4614-6731-1. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
^Xiao S, Laflamme M (January 2009). "On the eve of animal radiation: phylogeny, ecology and evolution of the Ediacara biota". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 24 (1): 31–40.
doi:
10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.015.
PMID18952316.
^Schiffbauer JD, Xiao S, Cai Y, Wallace AF, Hua H, Hunter J, et al. (December 2014). "A unifying model for Neoproterozoic-Palaeozoic exceptional fossil preservation through pyritization and carbonaceous compression". Nature Communications. 5 (1): 5754.
Bibcode:
2014NatCo...5.5754S.
doi:
10.1038/ncomms6754.
hdl:10919/80356.
PMID25517864.
S2CID205333365.
^Muscente AD, Schiffbauer JD, Broce J, Laflamme M, O'Donnell K, Boag TH, Meyer M, Hawkins AD, Huntley JW, McNamara M, MacKenzie LA, Stanley GD, Hinman NW, Hofmann MH, Xiao S (August 2017). "Exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages through geologic time and space". Gondwana Research. 48: 164–188.
Bibcode:
2017GondR..48..164M.
doi:
10.1016/j.gr.2017.04.020.
hdl:10919/81949.