Born in Shanghai, China, Wang emigrated with his family to the United States in the late 1940s. Wang worked with Dr. Howard Aiken at Harvard University in the 1950s. Wang invented several important computer technologies, including the pulse transfer controlling device, an important early contribution to magnetic core memory.
Wang founded a company called Wang Laboratories, which at one time employed over 30,000 people and was headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts. Wang died of cancer in 1990, leaving behind an impressive technical and philanthropical legacy.