Paul Chu (traditional Chinese: 朱經武; simplified Chinese: 朱经武; pinyin: Zhū Jīngwǔ; Wade–Giles: Ching-Wu Chu; born February 12, 1941) is a Chinese-born American physicist specializing in superconductivity, magnetism, and dielectrics. He is a Professor of physics and T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science in the Physics Department at the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He was the President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 2001 to 2009. In 1987 he was one of the first scientists to demonstrate high-temperature superconductivity.
Born in Changsha, Hunan, Chu's family was from Taishan, Guangdong Province. He spent his childhood in Taiwan and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Taiwan Provincial Cheng Kung University in Taiwan in 1962. He earned his Master of Science degree from Fordham University in 1965. He completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of California at San Diego in 1968.
After two years of performing industrial research with Bell Laboratories at Murray Hill, New Jersey, Chu was appointed Assistant Professor of Physics at Cleveland State University in 1970. He was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor and Professor of Physics in 1973 and 1975, respectively.
