Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu

Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu: She is known as both the “First Lady of Physics” and the “Chinese Marie Curie,” Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu made significant contributions to physics during her long career. Born in China, Wu moved to California, where she completed her PhD in 1940 at the University of California, Berkeley.

Wu joined the research staff at Columbia University in 1944, where she worked on the Manhattan Project, which helped the United States develop the atomic bomb during World War II. But despite her accomplishments, Wu still faced discrimination working as a woman in the field of science. She fought for equal pay throughout her career, and eventually became the first woman to serve as president of the American Physical Society.