Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu: The First Lady of Physics
                     Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu: The First Lady of Physics
INTRODUCTION
Chien-Shiung Wu is a pioneer and 
pivotal figure in the history of 
physics. An immigrant to the 
United States from China, she did 
important work for the Manhattan 
Project and in experimental 
physics.
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NOBEL PRIZE 
Her crucial contribution to particle 
physics was, however, ignored by 
the Nobel Prize committee when it 
awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in 
Physics.
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BIRTH
Chien-Shiung was born on May 31, 
1912 and raised in a small fishing 
town just north of Shanghai, China. 
She had two brothers and was the 
middle child. 
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EDUCATION
Although relatively uncommon for 
girls to attend school, Chien-
Shiung went to Mingde Women’s 
Vocational Continuing School. It 
was founded by her father, who 
believed that girls should receive 
an education.
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DEGREE IN PHYSICS
In 1934, Chien-Shiung graduated 
at the top of her class with a 
degree in physics from the 
National Central University in 
Nanking, China (now known as 
Nanjing University). After 
graduation, she worked in a 
physics lab in China.
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DEGREE
With financial support from her 
uncle, Chien-Shiung took a ship to 
San Francisco. She was likely 
processed for immigration to the 
United States at the Angel Island 
Immigration Station located in San 
Francisco Bay. She enrolled at the 
University of California Berkeley in 
1936.
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MARRIAGE
In 1942, she married Luke Chia-Liu 
Yuan, who she had met during her 
studies at Berkeley. Neither of their 
families were able to attend the 
wedding because of World War II 
fighting in the Pacific.
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CAREER AS 
PROFFESSOR
After World War II, Dr. Wu 
continued on at Columbia 
University, becoming a full 
professor in 1958 and the Michael 
I. Pupin Professor of Physics in 
1973. In 1975, her pay as a 
professor was raised to be equal to 
that of her male colleagues. 
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IMPORTANT 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO 
PHYSICS 
Among her important contributions 
to physics was the first 
confirmation of Enrico Fermi’s 1933 
theory of beta decay (how 
radioactive atoms become more 
stable and less radioactive). She 
also played a crucial role in an 
important advancement in atomic 
science.
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DEATH
Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu retired from 
Columbia in 1981 and died of a 
stroke in New York City on February 
16, 1997. Her ashes were buried in 
the courtyard of the Mingde School 
in China that she had attended as 
a girl.
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