Wu receive the award for his “fundamental contributions to the planning, analysis and interpretation of statistical studies that have had a profound impact on the practice of statistics, especially in engineering; this includes significant results on resampling methods, theory of experimental design and pioneering work in industrial statistics that have changed the way statistical studies are used to optimize products and processes.”

Wu’s research contributions span the full range of statistics, from theory to application, and touch many applied domains, from sample surveys to nanotechnology. They are notable for their combination of novelty, technical strength, and far-reaching vision. He has made especially significant contributions to experimental design. As one of his supporters wrote, “In view of Professor Wu’s contribution to design of experiments, it is particularly fitting for him to deliver a lecture that honors R. A. Fisher, commonly regarded as father of the modern theory of experimental design.”

The R.A. Fisher Lectureship was established in 1963 by COPSS to honor both the contributions of Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher and the work of a present-day statistician for their advancement of statistical theory and applications.  COPSS has required that the Lectureship be awarded each year and that when possible the lecture be presented each year at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM), the largest gathering of statistician held in North America.

Wu delivered the Fisher Lecture, entitled Post-Fisherian Experimentation: From Physical To Virtual, on August 3, 2011 at the JSM in Miami Beach, Florida with over 1000 attendees.   

COPSS sponsors two prestigious awards, the COPSS President’s Award and the COPSS Fisher Lecture Award.  The former is given to the best statistician under the age of 40 and the latter is for lifetime achievements.  In 1987, Wu received the COPSS President’s Award.  Besides Wu, only three other individuals have received both of these prestigious awards. 

Wu's other honors include membership on the National Academy of Engineering, Member of Academia Sinica, Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies Presidents Award in 1987, honorary professor at Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an honorary doctor of mathematics at University of Waterloo. He earned his BS in Mathematics from National Taiwan University and a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of California, Berkeley. Wu joined Georgia Tech in the summer of 2003.