After graduating in physics from Chen Kung University, Chu moved to America in 1963. He earned his MS from Fordham University, in Bronx, New York and completed his PhD in 1968 at the University of California, San Diego.
After spending two years working for the company AT & T, Chu entered academic life, first as assistant professor of physics at Cleveland State University and since 1979 as professor of physics at the University of Houston. He has held the Temple Chair since 1987.
He has been working on superconductivity since his days with Bernd T. Matthias at UCSD in the mid 196os. His other research interests are magnetism and ferroelectricity.
Chu is considered one of the most important superconductivity scientists for his 1987 discovery of a combination of materials that could conduct electricity at temperature high enough to allow for cheap, efficient energy production.
Chu Paul Ching-Wu
