Critical Transitions Across the Phanerozoic: A Roundtable Workshop on Sino-US Collaborative Research on Major Events in the History of Life during the Past 600 Million Years

在过去的20年里，在中国发现了一些最令人兴奋的化石。从前寒武纪的胚胎、寒武纪的基础动物群、导致入侵陆地的过渡鱼类、保存完好的中生代植物、鸟类和恐龙，以及大量的新生代哺乳动物，这些前所未闻或难以想象的壮观化石被揭示出来。与这些前所未有的发现相伴随的是中国科学投入的空前增长。在这些令人兴奋的事情中，中美两国古生物学家和相关地质学科之间的合作蓬勃发展。在这些广泛的合作中可以获得很多东西。来自美国的专家带来了创新的方法和大量现有的知识，而中国科学家可以迅速获得最先进的实践，并利用这些合作获得额外的资助。在这种令人兴奋的发展背景下，由美国国家科学基金会（NSF）及其中国同行共同资助的“生命历史中的关键转折”研讨会于2005年构想出来。研讨会旨在将中美两国在各自专业领域最活跃的科学家聚集在一起，交流思想和数据，并在地质年代学、沉积学、同位素和有机地球化学以及古生物学等相关领域建立一个更有效的网络。连续举办的讲习班大约每年举办一次，已成为激烈交流思想的主要催化剂，与会者往往是国际伙伴关系广泛平台的核心。因此，讲习班在促进双边和多边关系方面发挥了至关重要的作用，这些关系旨在成为单个国家无法实现的研究努力的倍增器。这些项目寻求资金，邀请来自美国、中国和芬兰的50名（洛杉矶地区以外的40名）古生物学家和相关地球科学家，以及中国相关资助机构的管理人员，在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的洛杉矶县自然历史博物馆参加为期三天的研讨会。除了第一天的一系列演讲外，两天的其余时间分为平行会议，详细讨论特定的关键转变。申请的资金用于旅行、住宿和膳食。

In the past 20 years, some of the most exciting fossil discoveries have been found in China. Spectacular fossils are brought to light that are previous unheard of or unimagined, ranging from Precambrian embryos, Cambrian basal animal groups, transitional fishes leading to invasion of land, exquisitely preserved Mesozoic plants, birds and dinosaurs, and an abundance of Cenozoic mammals. Such an unprecedented spate of discoveries is accompanied by an equally unprecedented increase of funding in Chinese science. Amid these excitements are flourishing collaborations between US and Chinese paleontologists and related geologic disciplines. There is much to be gained in these broad collaborations. Specialists from the US bring to the table innovative approaches as well as a large existing body of knowledge, whereas Chinese scientists can rapidly acquire the state-of-the-art practice and leverage these collaborations for additional funding. Against this background of heady developments, a workshop of "Critical Transitions in the History of Life" was conceived in 2005 and co-funded by the NSF (SG&P) and its Chinese counterparts. The workshops aim to bring together US and Chinese scientists most active in their respective areas of expertise, to exchange ideas and data, and to nurture a more effective network across related fields such as geochronology, sedimentology, isotope and organic geochemistry, and paleontology. The successive workshops, roughly one in each year, have become a major catalyst for intense exchanges of ideas, and participants often form the nucleus of broad platforms of international partnership. The workshops thus played a vital role in promoting bilateral and multilateral relationships designed to become multipliers of research efforts that, by individual countries alone, would not have been possible. The PIs seek funds to bring 50 (40 outside of Los Angeles area) paleontologists and related geoscientists from US, China, and Finland, as well as administrators of relevant Chinese funding agencies, for a three-day workshop at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, California. Besides a series of presentations in the first day of the workshop, the rest of the two days are divided into parallel sessions for detailed discussions about particular critical transitions. Requested funds are for travel, lodging, and meals.