In an article titled, “A Pioneer’s Preserverence,” Preston Schmitt describes the inspiring story of Physics Professor Sau Lan Wu:
The UW–Madison Vilas Professor’s story is a lesson in dichotomy. She grew up in dire poverty on the streets of Hong Kong as her wealthy father traveled the globe as the Ginger King, so named for his success in the preserved-ginger industry. She had $40 to her name when she arrived in the United States — 10 years later, she had a PhD from Harvard. And then she devoted her life to a rarely reciprocal field dominated by men.
Wu has played a core role in three major discoveries in particle physics, advancing what we know about the tiniest parts of matter — and therefore, the world around us. Along the way, she’s advised more than 60 UW graduate students and 40 postdoctoral researchers.