Chien Shung Wu

Chien Shung Wu (1912-1997)  was a Chinese-American physicist who was popularly known as the ‘First Lady of Physics’ for her experiments in nuclear physics and contribution to the Manhattan Project during WWII.

Wu grew up in Liuhe, China with her two siblings and her parents who advocated deeply for gender equality; her father was an engineer who founded the Ming De School for Girls which was one of the first schools for girls in the region for girls without access to formal education. She loved reading, science, and mathematics which fueled her curiosity in STEM and often read science journals rather than children’s books. She left to attend the Suzhou Women's Normal School at 11, and later attended the National Central University where she graduated with a degree in physics in 1934; Six years later, she earned her PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley after moving to the United States.

During the second world war, Wu became part of a secret project (The Manhattan Project) where she worked on separating uranium isotopes to secure enough nuclear fuel and helped in solving problems with radiation detection and nuclear measurements. She also conducted research on beta decay and published a book on it which was referred to by many physicists. Her most famous achievement—The Wu Experiment—led to the discovery that beta particles were emitted more in one direction, overturning a law that had been accepted in physics for decades. Despite her groundbreaking experiment, the Nobel Prize was awarded to two other physicists who originally proposed the theory, but never proved it.

Wu is regarded as one of the best influential physicists in history because of her many awards and contributions to physics, making her a true inspiration to all.