Paul C.W. Chu
Professor of Physics, T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science and Executive Director
Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston
Professor of Physics, T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science and Executive Director
Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston
Dr. Paul C. W. Chu is currently serving as Professor of Physics, T. L. L. Temple Chair of Science, and Executive Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston, and as President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He was born in Hunan, China, and received a B.S. degree from Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan. After service with the Nationalist Chinese Air Force, he earned his M.S. degree from Fordham University, Bronx NY, and completed his PH.D. at the University of California at San Diego. All three degrees were obtained in the field of Physics. He has been working on Superconductivity, Magnetism, and Dielectrics.
After doing industrial research with Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Dr. Chu held an academic appointment at Cleveland State University. He assumed his appointment at the University of Houston in 1979. He was Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston between 1987 and 2001. He had also served as consultant and visiting staff member at Bell Labs, Los Alamos National Lab, the Marshall Space Flight Center, Argonne National Lab, and DuPont at various times.
He has been working on superconductivity since his days with Bernd T. Matthias at the University of California at San Diego. In January 1987, Dr. Chu and his colleagues achieved stable superconductivity at 93 K (-180 °C), above the critical temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196 °C). They continue to find new compounds with high transition temperatures. They again obtained stable superconductivity at a new record high temperature of 164 K (-109 °C) in another compound when compressed. Presently, he is actively engaged in the basic and applied research of high temperature superconductivity. His research activities extend beyond superconductivity to magnetism and dielectrics. His work has resulted in the publication of more than 530 papers in referred journals.
He has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), the Academia Sinica (Taipei), the Third World Academy of Science, and the Electromagnetic Academy, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Texas Academy of Science. He has received honorary doctorates from Northwestern University, Fordham University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Florida International University, The State University of New York at Farmingdale, Hong Kong Baptist University, Providence University, and Whittier College. In 1990 he was selected the Best Researcher in the U.S. by US News and World Report.
He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science, the International Prize for New Materials, the Comstock Award, Texas Instruments' Founders' Prize, the Leroy Randal Grumman Medal, the World Cultural Council Medal of Science Merit, the New York Academy of Sciences' Physical and Mathematical Science Award, the Bernd Matthias Prize (M2S-HTSC), the Award of Excellence in Scientific Accomplishments (World Congress on Superconductivity), the St. Martin de Porres Award, the Esther Farfel Award (University of Houston), and the John Fritz Medal (American Association of Engineering Societies). He serves on the editorial boards of various professional journals and is a member of the board of directors of the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors.
After doing industrial research with Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Dr. Chu held an academic appointment at Cleveland State University. He assumed his appointment at the University of Houston in 1979. He was Director of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston between 1987 and 2001. He had also served as consultant and visiting staff member at Bell Labs, Los Alamos National Lab, the Marshall Space Flight Center, Argonne National Lab, and DuPont at various times.
He has been working on superconductivity since his days with Bernd T. Matthias at the University of California at San Diego. In January 1987, Dr. Chu and his colleagues achieved stable superconductivity at 93 K (-180 °C), above the critical temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196 °C). They continue to find new compounds with high transition temperatures. They again obtained stable superconductivity at a new record high temperature of 164 K (-109 °C) in another compound when compressed. Presently, he is actively engaged in the basic and applied research of high temperature superconductivity. His research activities extend beyond superconductivity to magnetism and dielectrics. His work has resulted in the publication of more than 530 papers in referred journals.
He has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), the Academia Sinica (Taipei), the Third World Academy of Science, and the Electromagnetic Academy, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Texas Academy of Science. He has received honorary doctorates from Northwestern University, Fordham University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Florida International University, The State University of New York at Farmingdale, Hong Kong Baptist University, Providence University, and Whittier College. In 1990 he was selected the Best Researcher in the U.S. by US News and World Report.
He has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science, the International Prize for New Materials, the Comstock Award, Texas Instruments' Founders' Prize, the Leroy Randal Grumman Medal, the World Cultural Council Medal of Science Merit, the New York Academy of Sciences' Physical and Mathematical Science Award, the Bernd Matthias Prize (M2S-HTSC), the Award of Excellence in Scientific Accomplishments (World Congress on Superconductivity), the St. Martin de Porres Award, the Esther Farfel Award (University of Houston), and the John Fritz Medal (American Association of Engineering Societies). He serves on the editorial boards of various professional journals and is a member of the board of directors of the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors.