Wu Chien-Shiung (1912–1997)

Chinese-born US physicist. Her work changed the accepted view of the structure of the universe. She was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate of science from Princeton University, New Jersey, the first woman elected president of the American Physical Society, and the first woman awarded the Wolf Prize from the state of Israel. She was also the first living scientist to have an asteroid named after her. She performed experiments on the parity principle in beta emission (1957, 1963) and her later research included studies of muonic and pionic X-rays, spectroscopic examinations of haemoglobins, and ultra-low temperature physics.

Wu was born in Li-huo, Kiangsu province, China, and went to the USA for graduate study in 1936. She taught at Smith College and Princeton, then joined Columbia University in 1944, retiring in 1981.