Cornell molecular biologist Ray Wu who has been on the Cornell faculty since 1966 committed to a gift of $500,000 to establish the Ray Wu Graduate Fellowship in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the university to support a firstyear graduate student. The gift, which Ray has funded, created a permanent endowment to support one graduate student each year in the field of molecular biology and genetics. The first such fellowship in Wu's department was made in August 2000. Wu's gift is one of the largest among current faculty members in Cornell University.
Cornell President Hunter Rawlings said in December 2, 1999 “Ray Wu has been a loyal and generous ambassador and supporter of Cornell University. He has accompanied me personally on many trips to China. Wu developed the first method for determining the nucleotide sequence of DNA that was later used by other researchers whose work won the Nobel Prize. More recently, he has been working in the area of rice biotechnology, and he is perhaps best known for his work on developing drought- and salt-tolerant transgenic rice. The genetically modified rice, he said, has the potential to boost rice yield by 30 percent a year by the year 2020”.
“I find it remarkable that Professor Wu has carried on such an intense and sophisticated program of research at the cutting edge of the biological sciences while also developing strong bonds with research and teaching institutions in China and Taiwan. Wu, through a lifetime of distinguished research and careful mentoring of students and scientists in this country and in his native China, and now through the establishment of his fellowship, has ensured that Cornell's influence as a leader in the biological sciences and its commitment to global citizenship will extend into the next century and beyond" Rawlings concluded.
Rawlings was referring to Wu's work as the initiator and coordinator for eight years of the China-U.S. Biochemistry Examination and Admission Program (CUSBEA). While with the program, Wu helped place more than 400 top Chinese doctoral students in 80 universities throughout the United States. Wu also helped establish the Institute of Molecular Biology and recently, the Institute of BioAgricultural Sciences at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.
Cornell President Hunter Rawlings