Xu Xing

Xu Xing serves as a distinguished researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, where he has established himself as the world's most prolific living paleontologist in naming new dinosaur species. His academic journey began unexpectedly at Peking University's department of geology, followed by his MSc and PhD in Paleontology at IVPP, completing groundbreaking research on deinonychosaurian fossils and coelurosaurian evolution in 2002. His revolutionary discoveries, including numerous feathered dinosaurs such as Sinosauropteryx, Beipiaosaurus, and the four-winged Microraptor gui, have provided crucial evidence for the dinosaur-bird evolutionary link. His research has fundamentally changed our understanding of how scales evolved into feathers and the origin of birds, with his work appearing in over 200 journal articles, including more than 10 publications in Nature and Science. His remarkable fieldwork has led to discoveries of multiple previously unknown dinosaur species in Inner Mongolia's Erenhot, with Gigantoraptor being recognized among Time magazine's Top Scientific Discoveries. Beyond his research, he has made significant contributions to public education through establishing natural history museums, participating in popular science programs, and authoring educational materials, including "Dinosaurs Flying to the Blue Sky," which has become standard curriculum for Chinese primary school students, while maintaining active involvement in international paleontological research and collaboration.