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Superconductivity is the property of some materials to conduct electricity without resistance.
The field has enormous implications for the conservation of energy and for improved efficiency of any device that uses electricity. The research is finding growing applications in a wide variety of technologies, including high speed levitated trains in Japan. Recently, they again observed stable superconductivity at a new record high temperature of 164K by applying high pressure to a mercury compound. Chu holds a B.S. degree in physics from Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan, an M.S. from Fordham University, N.Y., and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. He has been working at the University of Houston since 1979.