Chien-Shiung Wu

physics · women in science · experiments

Experimental physics genius. Chien-Shiung Wu was so skilled at designing and running experiments that people compared her to Marie Curie. She became known as the 'First Lady of Physics' for her incredible contributions to science.

Manhattan Project pioneer. During World War II, Wu worked on the Manhattan Project and helped figure out how to separate uranium into different types using a process called gaseous diffusion. This was crucial work for the war effort.

Broke a physics rule. Wu conducted the famous Wu experiment, which proved that something called 'parity' doesn't always stay the same in physics. This discovery overturned what scientists had believed for decades.

Prize recognition. Even though Wu's experiment was groundbreaking, her colleagues Lee and Yang won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for it. Wu later received the inaugural Wolf Prize in Physics in 1978, one of science's highest honors.