Paul Ching Wu Chu
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Paul Ching Wu Chu (Template:Lang-zh; born December 2, 1941) is a Taiwanese-American physicist specializing in superconductivity, magnetism, and dielectrics. He is a professor of physics and T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science in the Physics Department at the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He was the president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 2001 to 2009. In 1987, he was one of the first scientists to demonstrate high-temperature superconductivity.
Early life and education
Chu was born in Changsha, Hunan, Republic of China in 1941. Chu's family was from Taishan, Guangdong. Chu spent his childhood in Taiwan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="CAH">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1958, Chu graduated from Taichung Municipal Cingshuei Senior High School. He then earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from National Cheng Kung University in 1962, a Master of Science (M.S.) from Fordham University in 1965, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, in 1968.<ref name="thesis-chu-1968">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
Career
After two years of performing industrial research with Bell Laboratories at Murray Hill, New Jersey, Chu was appointed assistant professor of physics at Cleveland State University in 1970. He was subsequently promoted to associate professor and professor of physics in 1973 and 1975, respectively.
In 1979, Chu became a professor of physics at the University of Houston, an appointment he still holds. In 1987, he and Maw-Kuen Wu announced the historic discovery of superconductivity above 77 K in YBCO,<ref> Template:Cite journal</ref> touching off a frenzy of scientific excitement exemplified by the Woodstock of physics, at which he was a featured presenter.<ref name="Chang">Template:Cite news</ref> He was then appointed the director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity. Chu has served as the T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science at the same university since 1987. He also has served as a consultant and visiting staff member at Bell Laboratories, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, the Marshall Space Flight Center, Argonne National Laboratory and DuPont at various times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Chu has received numerous awards and honors for his outstanding work in superconductivity, including the National Medal of Science<ref>National Science Foundation – The President's National Medal of Science</ref> and the Comstock Prize in Physics in 1988,<ref name="Comstock">Template:Cite web</ref> and the American Physical Society's International Prize for New Materials. He was an invited contributor to the White House National Millennium Time Capsule at the National Archives in 2000 and was selected the Best Researcher in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report in 1990.
In 1989, Chu was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.<ref name="AAAS">Template:Cite web</ref> He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (foreign member), Academia Sinica, Russian Academy of Engineering (RAE) and the Third World Academy of Sciences. His research activities extend beyond superconductivity to magnetism and dielectrics. Template:Citation needed
On November 17, 2014, an IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing plaque was presented to University of Houston for Chu and his team's 1987 discovery of high temperature superconductors.<ref>Template:Cite web(The IEEE Milestone plaque is mounted in the lobby area of Science Research Building One.)</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On September 1, 2001, Chu succeeded Professor Chia-Wei Woo as the president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Chu's tenure as university president ended officially on 1 September 2009.
On November 5, 2011, Chu was appointed as the founding President of the Taiwan Comprehensive University System (TCUS).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
He is married to May Chu, the daughter of Shiing-Shen Chern.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Awards and honors
- Honorary Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree from Whittier College. (1991)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- 2014 IEEE Council on Superconductivity Max Swerdlow Award for Sustained Service to the Applied Superconductivity Community.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Lectures
- 1991 – High temperature superconductivity: four years later Lecture sponsored by the Dept. of Electrical and Computer engineering, University of California, San Diego. Electrical and Computer Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series. Digital object made available by UC San Diego Library.
See also
References
Additional sources
External links
- Paul Chu at uh.edu – at archive.org
- Paul C. W. Chu at ashk.org.hk
- Paul C. W. Chu at committee100.org
- Paul Ching-Wu Chu at encyclopedia.com
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- 1941 births
- Living people
- Chinese emigrants to the United States
- 21st-century American physicists
- Cleveland State University alumni
- Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Fordham University alumni
- Members of Academia Sinica
- Members of the Committee of 100
- National Cheng Kung University alumni
- National Medal of Science laureates
- People from Changsha
- University of California, San Diego alumni
- University of Houston faculty
- Presidents of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Educators from Hunan
- Scientists from Hunan
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Fellows of the American Physical Society