Ray Wu

Ray Jui Wu (Chinese: 吴瑞; 14 August 1928 – 10 February 2008) was a Chinese American biologist and educator. Wu was a pioneer of plant genetic engineering, and the former Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Molecular Genetics and Biology at Cornell University.^[1]

Biography

Wu was the son of Hsien Wu, also a biologist. Wu was born in Beijing in China, his ancestral hometown was Fuzhou of Fujian Province. Wu was educated in the United States and obtained his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1955.^[2]

Wu did important work in DNA sequencing and genetic engineering, and is regarded as one of founding fathers of plant genetic engineering. Wu also was an active educator, and created the CUSBEA (China-US Biochemistry Examination and Application). In 1999, at Cornell, Wu donated US$ 500,000 to establish the Ray Wu Graduate Fellowship in Molecular Biology and Genetics to support biology graduate students.^[3]

Wu spent most of his scientific career at Cornell. Wu was an Academician of Academia Sinica (Taiwan), and a Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering.^[4] Wu's former student Jack W. Szostak was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.^[5]

Ray Wu Memorial Fund

The Ray Wu Memorial Fund (RWMF) is a nonprofit 501c3 organization. RWMF administers the annual Ray Wu Prize for Excellence in Life Sciences that is established to inspire Asia's most promising young Ph.D. students to become future leaders in life sciences. For more details, visit the website raywumemorialfund.

References

1. ↑ Cornell University Cornell Chronicle Ray Wu dies at 79
2. ↑ CUSBEA创始人吴瑞因病去世 享年79岁 (Founder of CUSBEA Ray Wu dies at 79), from ScienceNet.com News
3. ↑ Molecular biologist Ray Wu's gift will endow a graduate fellowship
4. ↑ Ray Wu, as remembered by a former student
5. ↑ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009

External links

• Ray Wu Memorial Symposium
• Ray Wu Faculty Profile @ Cornell University Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics