Chien-Shiung
Wu, was the "First Lady of Physics" who disproved of one
the laws in physics - parity conservation.
Wu was born on May 29, 1912, in a small town near Shanghai called Liu Ho in China. Her parents believed strongly in education for children. After finishing her early schooling at the school her parents founded, Chien-Shiung, a name literally means "strong hero", went on to become an accomplished student. Wu graduated from the prestigious National Central University in Nanjin in China and later at the University of California, Berkeley in United States. She received her Ph.D. in 1940 from Berkeley.
In 1942, She was married to another Chinese physicist, ChiaLiu (Luke)Yuan.They moved to the East Coast where she taught physics at Smith College while her husband worked on radar at the Princeton University.
In 1944, during WWII, Wu joined the Manhattan Project at Columbia University. Initially the Project focused on uranium enrichment and neutron research. Later, she helped to devise an ultra-low-temperature apparatus that was used to study symmetry in relation to nuclear structure. This orchestrated her outstanding demonstration of non-symmetry in the phenomena of weak nuclear interactions.
In 1957, physicists T.D. Lee and C.N. Yang proposed that parity was not conserved for weak interactions. Wu tested the proposal. She was able to prove in her experiment that identical nuclear particles do not always act alike. This observation subsequently overturned one of the widely accepted basic laws of physics-parity conservation. Her significant achievement helped win a Nobel Prize for Lee and Yang, however she was not included in this award. Wu went on as a recipient of many other awards. She was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1958 and received the Medal of Science in 1975. She also became the first woman ever to be awarded an honorary doctorate from Princeton University and first woman to be elected President of The American Physical Society in 1975.
Wu continued to teach at Columbia University and continued her research in nuclear physics until her retirement in 1981. Her interest in science did not stop after retirement. She continued to lecture widely and to encourage young men and women to build their careers in science. She died on February 16 1997 at the age of 84.
Designed by: W.M. Fang
Michael F. Martens. "Chien-Shiung Wu" Website
[On-line] (1999):http://144.26.13.41/phyhist/wu_cs.htm
National Academy of Science Website [On-line]
(1999): http://www4.nas.edu/nas/nasdece.nsf/all?OpenView&Count=300
The National Women's Hall of Fame Website
[On-line] (1999): http://www.greatwomen.org/wu.htm
Publication Department of Library of Congress. Women of Science
(#144). CA:Pomegrenate
Women in Technology International Website
[On-line] (1999): http://www.witi.com/Center/Museum/Hall/96/dwu.html
" Wu, Chien-Shiung." CWP Website [On-line] (1999): http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~cwp/Phase2/Wu,_Chien_Shiung@841234567.html#aic