Hu has a Ph.D. from Cornell University, completed in 2002.[2] She was elected as an IEEE Fellow in 2022, "for contributions to Spin-Transfer-Torque MRAM materials and devices".[3] She was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2023, "for pioneering advancements in the development of materials and devices for spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory, resulting in breakthroughs that have significantly enhanced the performance, scalability, and reliability of next-generation non-volatile memory technologies".[4]