Chien-Shiung Wu, a pioneering physicist, radically altered modern physical theory and changed our accepted view of the structure of the universe.

Wu's experiments led physicists to discard the concept that parity was conserved. In recognition of her contributions to atomic research and the understanding of beta decay and the weak interactions, Wu became the first woman to receive the prestigious Research Corporation Award and the Comstock Prize from the National Academy of Sciences. The Comstock Prize is given only once every five years.

Wu's distinguished career in the nation's leading universities as a teacher and researcher in nuclear physics has been characterized by a string of firsts. She was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate of science from Princeton University, to be elected president of the American Physical Society, and to receive the Wolf Prize from the State of Israel. She was also the first living scientist to have an asteroid named after her.

In 1972, Wu was appointed to an endowed professorship as the Pupin Professor of Physics at Columbia University.

Additional Resources:Kass-Simon, G., Patricia Farnes and Deborah Nash, editors. Women of Science: Righting the Record. Indiana University Press, 1989.

McGrayne, Sharon B. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries. Carol Publishing, 1998.

Editor with Vernon W. Hughes. Muon Phisics. New York: Academic Press, 1975-1977.

Editor with Luke C. Yuan. Elementary Particles: Science, Technology and Society. Academic Press, Inc., 1961-1963.

With S.A. Moszkowski. Beta Decay. New York: Interscience Publishers, 1966.

http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsR-Z/wu.html.