1912-1997

Chinese-American Physicist

Chien-Shiung Wu verified a theory for which her colleagues received a Nobel Prize in physics. An experimental physicist, Wu proved that the physical law of conservation of parity was invalid. Physicists had accepted this concept for thirty years before Wu's revelation, and the idea had been the foundation for theories regarding the universe's physical structure. Wu's remarkable investigation in nuclear physics demonstrated that science is dynamic and that physical laws can be fallible, reminding scientists to doubt assumed facts, to scrutinize their methodology and data to achieve accurate results, and to be receptive to new interpretations of the physical world.

Born on May 29, 1912, near Shanghai, China, Wu was born to Wu Zhongyi and Fuhua H. Fan Wu. Wu planned to become a scientist and her parents sent her to a boarding school, where she became fascinated by physics. She enrolled at the National...