One of the most gifted scientific minds in history belonged to Chien Shiung Wu 吳健雄. Her work as a physicist would change the world forever and her work as an advocate for women and minorities in the scientific community would pave the way for countless future discoveries by those who might have been overlooked otherwise.
Born in Jiangsu province in 1912 to progressive parents, her father was a passionate believer in education for women. He started a local primary school for girls which Chien would attend until the age of 10. She was then sent to boarding school 50 miles away in Suzhou where she would compete for a coveted spot in the teacher’s college. She was ranked 9th out of 10,000 applicants and would go on to graduate at the top of her class.
Her exceptional performance would lead her to National Central University in Nanjing and eventually to UC Berkley. As a graduate student, she would impress the famous physicists J Robert Oppenheimer and Emilio Segre. Segre often compared Chien to her hero Madam Curie, saying she is like Curie “but more worldly, elegant, and witty.”
Her work as a Berkeley fellow would earn her an invitation to work on the infamous Manhattan Project. There she was approached by two colleges to help them solve an issue with beta decay, her field of expertise. She would design and perform what came to be known as the Wu Experiment which proved that “Parity is not conserved.” To be honest, I spent several hours trying to wrap my head around this concept and I still have no idea what that means. But it was a break thru that won her two male colleagues the Nobel Prize a year later in 1957. Wu was overlooked and not included in the nomination.
As the years went on she would make many other contributions to the scientific world beyond the realms of physics. Her research into cell decay, for example, would lead to a break thru in the treatment of Sickle Cell Anemia. But she would also go out of her way to advocate for parity in her field. Often speaking out against the imbalances of power, pay, and prejudice of women and minorities in the sciences. She would become the first female president of the American Physical Society and eventually earn equal pay with her male colleagues at Columbia University. She would also be directly responsible for the first scientific advisory panel to an American president. She petitioned Gerald Ford directly and he would sign the Office of Science and Technology Policy not long after. This body still serves today.
Despite her love for her adopted home she missed China deeply and would return to visit in 1973. She dedicated the remainder of her life to traveling through China and the United States advocating for STEM education for all children regardless of gender, nationality, or socioeconomic background.
In 1978, over 20 years after she was excluded from the Nobel Prize she would finally be recognized for her work. She was awarded the very first Wolf Prize in Physics for her Wu experiment and the discoveries it led to.
Her lifetime of study and service truly earned her the title “The First Lady of Physics.”
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Photo: Time.com