12 Chien-Shiung Wu

Chien-Shiung Wu

Time period:

1912 – 1997

Subject:

Particle & Nuclear Physics

Biography:

Chien-Shiung Wu, known as the “First Lady in Physics”, was born in 1912 in Jiangsu, China. Although it was not common for women to pursue education at the time, with her family’s support, Wu pursued physics at National Central University in Nanjing. After completing her undergraduate studies in China, Wu pursued a Ph.D. in physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Her dedication to education and ground-breaking research has inspired generations of scientists, especially women in physics.

Summary of their contributions:

During World War II, Wu joined the Manhattan Project and contributed to the separating of uranium isotopes, marking a pivotal phase in her career. Wu’s most significant achievement was her experimental work disproving the law of conservation of parity through the “Wu experiment” alongside her colleagues Lee and Yang. This discovery had a profound impact on the field of particle physics and led to a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for her colleagues. Unfortunately, Wu did not share the prize despite her crucial experimental contributions. Wu continued her distinguished career and became the first woman to serve as president of the American Physical Society in 1975.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

Wu’s contributions align directly with the components of the BC Science curriculum. Her work disproving the law of conservation of parity is a real life example of “evaluating the validity and limitations of a model or analogy in relation to the phenomenon modelled”, showcasing the power of questioning a pre-existing model. Wu’s work can also be tied in with curricular content in physics and chemistry units across all grade levels.

References:

Science 9. (n.d.). BC Curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/science/9/core

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, May 25). Chien-Shiung Wu. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chien-Shiung-Wu