Yusheng (Chris) Liu (born 1965) is a Chinese paleobotanist, paleoclimatologist, and executive research administrator. He currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Research Development at Indiana University^[1] and is a Professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Indiana University Indianapolis. Liu is recognized for his research on fossil and modern seed plants and fungi, as well as his leadership in advancing research institutions, notably guiding the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) to R1 status in 2025.^[2]

Yusheng Liu was born in 1965 in Ziyang, Sichuan Province, China. He earned his B.Sc. in Botany from Sichuan University in 1986. Liu pursued graduate studies at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Academia Sinica, completing his M.Sc. in Paleoclimatology in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Paleobiology in 1992. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Vienna (Austria), Chiba University (Japan), Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany), and the University of Saskatchewan (Canada).

Liu has held numerous academic and administrative roles in U.S. higher education. His career began in 2001 managing the fossil plant collection at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago until 2003. He then served as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2003–2006) and East Tennessee State University (2006–2015), where he received the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2007.^[3]

From 2013 to 2015, Liu was a Program Director at the NSF, overseeing Earth Science and Biological Sciences programs. He later held executive roles at Prairie View A&M University (2015–2016) and California State University, Fullerton (2017–2019). In 2019, he joined University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) as Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, increasing NSF HERD R&D expenditures to $54.6 million in FY2023, a 120% growth from FY2018, securing UMKC’s R1 status in February 2025.^[4]

Since 2023, Liu has been Associate Vice President for Research Development at Indiana University, contributing to Indiana University Indianapolis’s R1 designation in February 2025.^[5]

Liu’s research focuses on paleobiology, paleoclimatology, and the systematics, ecology, and evolution of fossil and modern seed plants and fungi. His work on large-scale plant diversity datasets has advanced understanding of historical climate and environmental changes. He has published extensively in journals such as Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology and Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.^[6]

Liu spent seven years as a postdoctoral fellow in Austria, Japan, Germany, and Canada, enhancing his global perspective in paleobiology and paleoclimatology.

Liu has received several awards, including:

• National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2007)^[7]
• Humboldt Foundation Short Visit Research Fellowship (2005, 2008)
• Distinguished Research Award, East Tennessee State University (2010)

He has been an invited speaker at international conferences.

Liu has authored numerous papers, book chapters, and books, including:

• The Evolution of the Late Cretaceous – Cenozoic Floras in China (Science Press, Beijing)
• Articles in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology and Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology^[6]

Liu was born and raised in Ziyang, China. His international academic journey has shaped his career.

• Yusheng (Chris) Liu at Indiana University
• Yusheng (Chris) Liu ORCID Profile