感念文章

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 03:11 PM

ITHACA Journal

ITHACA — Ray Wu, a Cornell University professor widely recognized as one of the fathers of genetic engineering, has died.

Wu died of cardiac arrest in Ithaca on Sunday, university officials said. He was 79. Wu, a professor of molecular biology and genetics, developed and sought to feed the world with a higheryielding variety of rice that resists insects and drought. In 1970, he developed the first method for sequencing DNA and some of the fundamental tools for DNA cloning.

In the mid-1990s, Wu and his group genetically engineered and successfully field-tested pest-resistant rice plants and in 2002 demonstrated another strategy to genetically engineer rice and other crops to make them more tolerant of drought, salt and temperature stresses, while bolstering yields.

Born in Beijing, Wu came to the United States in 1948 at the urging of his father.

Wu joined the Cornell faculty in 1966 as an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and he became a professor in 1972.

Wu also served as a scientific adviser to the governments of both China and Taiwan and exerted great influence on U.S.-Chinese cooperation in biological science and education.

Wu is survived by his wife, Christina, two children, Albert and Alice, and three grandchildren.

Originally published in The Ithaca Journal on February 14, 2008

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