During April 4–6, 2015, an international scientific workshop entitled “The Rise of Modern Biodiversity – A Workshop addressing Critical Transitions in the History of Life” that was held at the Field Museum of Natural History with sponsorship from the US National Science Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). As the convener of China side, Prof. WANG Xiangdong, together with other 8 scientists from NIGPAS, attended the workshop.

This workshop is to bring together experts of palaeontology and evolutionary biology from US and China to explore and define emerging frontiers in the study of the life history on Earth and to facilitate and strengthen international collaborations. The 2015 workshop focused on “The Rise of Modern Biodiversity – A Workshop addressing Critical Transitions in the History of Life”. Having over 50 participants and 42 talks and poster presentations, the Workshop presented a wide-range and rich discussion of current progress in the study of palaeontology and evolutionary biology.