Ray Wu

RAY WU
ITHACA - Ray Wu, a Cornell University professor, widely considered to be one of the fathers of genetic engineering, died in Ithaca, New York, on February 10, 2008. He was 79.
Wu's work had lasting international impact in three areas. He was the first scientist to sequence DNA, and the tools he developed underlie many of the techniques used in science and medicine today. He created transgenic rice strains that could be grown in hostile climates, a step that has already boosted food production in areas of the world where it is needed most. At the same time, he created a system to bring promising students from his native China to the United States for training, fostering collaborations and influencing generations of researchers.
Colleagues admired him, as much for his humble, generous nature as for his can-do spirit and many scientific achievements. They described him as a gentleman and a scholar, a man whose face was always lit by a bright smile.
"He moved around the world with a mission to help all people," said Bill Lucas, a professor of plant biology at the University of California-Davis.
Ray Wu published more than 300 scientific articles and had five patents. His books, Methods in Enzymology on Recombinant DNA, were classics. Until a few weeks ago, Wu was still working full-time at Cornell, running his lab, getting grants, and flying to various countries to present papers and serve on scientific advisory committees.
Wu was born in Beijing, China in 1928, one of five children. His parents, Hsien Wu and Daisy Yen Wu were biochemists whose collaboration resulted in China's first nutrition textbook, which was still in print as late as the 1990's. Wu's father co-developed the first blood test for sugar. His parents helped instill in him values that he kept his whole life, including the importance of education. While in China, Wu attended Yenching University in Beijing.
In 1949, the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where Ray's father became chair of the biochemistry department at the University of Alabama and all five children completed their undergraduate education. Wu received his B.S. in Chemistry there, then, went on to earn his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania.
Wu became a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow, working under Efraim Racker, at the Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York. It was during these years he married his wife, Christina Chan, and they had their son, Albert, and daughter, Alice.
Wu joined the Cornell faculty in 1966, as an associate professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and became a professor in 1972. In 2002, he received the Frank Annunzio Award. In 2004, he was named the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics. In 2005, he won the Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
In his 50s, Wu turned his attention to world hunger, specifically the problem that much of the world's climate and soils are too hostile to grow rice and other food staples. In the mid-1990s, Wu and his group genetically engineered and successfully field-tested pest-resistant rice plants. In 2002, he demonstrated another strategy to genetically engineer rice and other crops to make them more tolerant of drought, salt and temperature stresses, while boosting yields.
In addition to his own lab work, Wu was also a longtime scientific adviser to governments both in China and Taiwan. He was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Molecular Biology and the Institute of Bioagricultural Sciences at the Academica Sinica in Taiwan, and the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing. He also served as an honorary professor at Peking University and a dozen other Chinese universities.
In the early 1980s, he devised a process to identify promising Chinese students. The program he founded (China-United States Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Examination and Application, or CUSBEA) brought more than 400 top Chinese students to the United States for graduate training, 100 of whom are now faculty members in major universities. These scientists, with colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, formed the Ray Wu society, which meets annually to promote advancements in the frontiers of life sciences.
The group was planning to mark Wu's 80th birthday with a major conference this fall at Cornell, which will go on as planned.
Wu himself believed in organization and planning, setting goals for himself for each year and phase of his life. In addition, he had great personal discipline. Yet as hard as he worked, he always kept his life in balance, taking breaks to enjoy family, friends, music and photography. Wu was generous with his time, devoting many hours to advising colleagues, friends and family. He is remembered for his kindness, thoughtful advice and even-handed judgements.
Members of his family include his wife, Christina; two children, Albert (wife, Diana Sugg) of Baltimore, MD and Alice (husband, Lewis Clark) of Ithaca, NY; four grandchildren, Alex and Adriana Clark of Ithaca, NY, Sam and Oliver Ray Wu of Baltimore, MD. In addition, his family includes a sister, Christine Wu of California; and a brother, Victor (wife, Mildred Ling) Wu of North Carolina; and five nieces and nephews, Debra and Paul Nelson, Joseph and David Boyle and Julia Wu; and a grandniece and nephew, Emily and Greg Nelson.
A Memorial Service is planned at Kendal at Ithaca for Sunday, June 15, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. Plans are underway for a memorial symposium at Cornell on October 3-4, 2008 with more information to follow.
In lieu of flowers, well-wishers may wish to direct contributions to the "Ray Wu Graduate Fellowship in Molecular Biology and Genetics" to help support first-year graduate students at Cornell University. Checks are payable to "Cornell University." In the memo part of the check or letter indicate that the gift is for "The Ray Wu Graduate Fellowship." The address is as follows: The Ray Wu Graduate Fellowship in Molecular Biology & Genetics c/o Michael P. Riley, Associate Dean of Alumni Affairs & Development at CALS, Cornell University, 272 Roberts Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. Well-wishers may also wish to donate to the American Heart Association. The family was assisted by the E.C. Wagner Funeral Home of Ithaca.
www.ecwagnerfuneralhome.com