Chien-Shiung Wu: Nuclear Physics
Often compared to Marie Curie, Chien-Shiung Wu worked on the Manhattan Project (one of the few women working on the project) where she developed the process for separating uranium metal. In 1934, Chien-Shiung graduated at the top of her class with a degree in physics from the National Central University in Nanking, China (now known as Nanjing University). After graduation, she worked in a physics lab in China. Her mentor, Dr. Jing-Wei Gu, another woman working in the field of physics, encouraged Chien-Shiung to continue her education in the United States.
She was the first woman hired as faculty in the Physics Department at Princeton. Shortly afterward, in 1944, Dr. Wu took a job at Columbia University in New York City and joined the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project researchers were working towards the creation of the atomic bomb. Chein-Shiung’s research included improving Geiger counters for the detection of radiation and the enrichment of uranium in large quantities. In 1956, she conducted the Wu experiment that focused on electromagnetic interactions. After it yielded surprising results, Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang, the physicists who originated a similar theory in the field, received credit for her work, winning the Nobel Prize for the experiment in 1957.