When Chien-Shiung Wu Found Closed Doors, She Opened Her Own
As a child in Jiangsu, China, Chien-Shiung Wu’s parents enthusiastically supported their daughter’s curiosity and academic pursuits. Unfortunately, she would find that the world was not always so welcoming. After excelling at school and university in China, Wu decided to continue her education in physics at the University of Michigan. But when she heard that the university reportedly wouldn’t let women use the front door of the student center, she changed her plans, heading to the Univerisity of Berkeley instead. At Berkeley, Wu quickly made a name for herself and became known as an exceptionally talented experimental physicist. But she still faced blatant sexism throughout her studies. An article about Wu’s accomplishments at Berkeley repeatedly references her physical appearance and calls the 29-year-old “a petite Chinese girl.”
Wu initially planned to return to China after completing her studies in the U.S. But World War II, the Chinese Civil War, and the rise to power of the dictator Mao Zedong prevented her from returning home and visiting her parents before their deaths. Still, she remained dedicated to her work, eventually developing the “Wu Experiment,” which proved an exception to a fundamental law of physics. Despite the experiment bearing her name, Wu’s male colleagues received the Nobel Prize for the groundbreaking research. Although denied a Nobel Prize, Wu received some of physic’s highest honors and is generally considered one of the most important figures in her field’s history, even earning the nickname “First Lady of Physics.” She was the first female physics professor in Princeton’s history and worked on the historic Manhattan Project.