Chien-Shiung Wu and her contributions to experimental physics*

Chien-Shiung Wu was one of the outstanding physicists of the 20^th century. She has made fundamental contributions to physics and resolved several outstanding problems in nuclear physics and particle physics. She conducted a well-known series of experiments on β decay. In particular, her 1956 Cobalt-60 parity experiment is viewed as one of the landmark experiments of twentieth-century physics. In addition, Wu also conducted experiments concerning the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics.

As a Chinese-born woman physicist, Wu managed to combine different cultures and societies with elegance. This talk will give a brief introduction of Chien-Shiung Wu’s contribution to experimental physics. Her Chinese cultural background and her contributions to the science development in China since the 1970s will be highlighted.