Wu Gan

Recommended by: Gansu Disabled Persons’ Federation

Wu Gan, born in 1972, is a senior engineer at the Lanzhou Institute of Physics, CAST. Wu Gan was diagnosed with polio when he was 9 months old, which led to loss of the use of his left leg.

As a disabled child, Wu was often laughed at by his peers. He has suffered from pain, depression and sadness, but he never gave up his academic studies.

In 1991, Wu was admitted by Northeastern University. He was the only disabled student in his school. With help from his classmates and teachers, Wu achieved remarkable results at college, ranking first in his class. He chose to work in Lanzhou after graduation in 1995.

Wu always took his job seriously and was willing to help his colleagues. A colleague’s father was accidently hit by a car, and Wu visited him in the hospital more than 10 times in three months. He also raised over 5,000 yuan for the father’s medical treatment.

Wu was also the only disabled person at his work place, but he never asked for any special favors. He treated every experiment and project seriously and always put work before his family. Wu seldom had time to accompany his son when he was little, and his wife brought photos of their son to him every week.

Over the past 21 years, Wu has been doing academic research on laser application technology. He has published more than 20 papers, and attended eight international conferences. His team has applied for 20 patents, 10 of which were granted. Wu and his team have won numerous awards for their hard work. His story encouraged all his colleagues to stick to their dreams and continue to do their best.