Susan Wu | |
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Born | Ying Chu Lin Wu June 26, 1932 Beijing, China |
Died | May 19, 2020 87) | (aged
Other names | Y.C.L. Susan Wu |
Education | Mechanical Engineering in National Taiwan University (1951), Aeronautics (PHD) California Institute of Technology (1963) |
Occupation(s) | President and CEO of ERC, Chairman of Information Technology Subcommittee, Professor in University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Presidential Appointee on National Air and Space Museum Advisory Board |
Scientific career | |
Thesis | Flow Generated by Suddenly Heated Flat Plate (1963) |
Ying Chu Lin (Susan) Wu (July 26, 1932 - May 19, 2020) was a Chinese-born American businesswoman and engineer in magnetohydrodynamics, aeronautics, and aerospace engineering.
Wu was born in Peking, China studied mechanical engineering at National Taiwan University, [1] and earned a B.S. in 1955. [2] She moved to the United States in 1957 [3] and earned an M.S. from Ohio State University in 1959 [2] before moving to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), [1] where she became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in aeronautics in 1963. [4] Wu worked at Electro-Optics Corporation for two years. [5] In 1965 she joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee Space Institute where she was promoted to professor in 1973. [2] In 1988 when she founded ERC, Engineering Research and Consulting, a company working in the defense and space industry. [6]
Wu's research centered on magnetohydrodynamic generators. [2] She served on the National Air and Space Museum Advisory Board from 1993 to 2000 [7] and spoke to the United States House of Representatives about magnetohydrodynamic generators. [8]
Wu received an Amelia Earhart fellowship from Zonta International in 1960 while working on her Ph.D. degree. [9] In 1985 she received the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award. [3] [10] In 1996, Wu was recognized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, where she was an associate fellow, [11] for her work which led to space weather prediction. [12] [ better source needed ] In 2013 Wu received a distinguished alumni award from Caltech. [13]