Li Fu Lee was a Chinese engineer and the first Chinese woman to attend MIT. Before attending MIT, Lee earned a science degree from the National Technical School of China. She came to the US in 1925, enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and graduated in 1929 with a degree in electrical engineering. Lee’s arrival at MIT was considered so noteworthy that papers across the country ran articles in the following months about this national “first.” After graduating, she returned to China, where she worked as an engineer and university instructor. Lee and her family relocated to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War, and eventually returned to the United States. At a time when few women studied engineering, Lee helped pave the way for future generations of women in science and technology.
