Huangdao Forum, initiated by president Hao Fang, is designed to provide a platform for academic communication and development of energy science. It mainly centers on key issues of energy science, application and output of key technologies and hot topics of interdisciplinary fields. Distinguished academic leaders and scholars at home and abroad will be invited to give lectures on hot topics and share their ideas with students and teachers. It will become a brand event for academic exchange, and play a key role in promoting discipline integration and research innovation.
On April 6th, the first huangdao forum was officially launched. Academician Zhou Zhonghe was invited to give a lecture on the topic of The Developemnt and Challenges of Darwinian Evolution: Geology and Paleontology's Contribution. He was also appointed as the adjunct professor of the university. President Hao Fang attended the forum.
Zhou Zhonghe made an introduction fo Darwin's contribution from five points: evolution, common ancestors, evolutionary change, populational variation and natural selection. He pointed out that Darwin's theories lay the foundation for evolutionism.
In terms of time, he expounded other theories in promoting the development of evolutionism, like GJ Mendel's genetics and GG Simpson's paleobiology. He also explained the new challenges of evolutionism, such as epigenetics and sexual selection. In the conclusion, he stated that natural selection is the main driving force in evolution, and is the result of survival of the fittest and the luckiest; the influence of environment and sexual selection on biological evolution must be taken into account.
As he said, geology has made great contribution to the progress of evolution theories. Taken Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology as an example, Zhou Zhonghe explained the viewpoint. Based on theories of continental drift, sea floor spreading and plate tectonics, he made a list of prehistoric life and their evolution. Finally, he said, the research of evolution come to no end and needs common efforts from both biologists and geologists.
Zhou Zhonghe is a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences. His research field is mesozoic birds and Jehol Biota. at present, he works as the chairman of the International Palaeontological Association and director of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of China.
Editor: Bu Lingduo Source: UPC News Center
Updatetime: 2017-4-14
