Chien-Shiung Wu

Born May 29, 1912, Liuhe, Jiangsu province, China—died February 16, 1997

Chien-Shiung Wu was a trailblazing physicist that overcame gender stereotypes and barriers throughout her career. 

She worked on the Manhattan Project in WWII and her experimentation with beta decay led to two other scientists winning the Nobel Prize. Many refer to this experiment as the “Wu experiment.”  She won more than 15 major awards and honorary degrees in her field. 

After retirement she was an advocate for young girls to pursue careers in science and spoke about the struggle to obtain recognition for her work.