Wang currently holds the C.N. Yang Professorship of Institute for Advanced Study at Tsinghua University. She is President of Chinese Association for Cryptologic Research (CACR), Vice-President of Chinese Mathematical Society, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) Fellow. She has been dedicating herself to cryptology and cryptologic mathematics. Main contributions were published in over 60 papers, many of which were in international top conferences in cryptology, including Crypto, Eurocrypt, Asiacrypt, Conference on Fast Software Encryption, etc. Her honours and awards include first prize of Chinese National Science and Technology Progress Award (2020), 2005 Test-of-Time Award for Crypto (2020), Levchin Prize for Real-World Cryptography (2020), Future Science Prize in Mathematics and Computer Science (2019), Special Prize for Cryptographic Innovation of CACR (2014), the Su Buchin Prize (2010) by China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, second class prize of Chinese National Natural Science Award (2008), Tan Kah Kee Science Award (2006), and Qiushi Outstanding Scientist Award (2006).

Wu received her BSc degree in chemistry from Lanzhou University in 1990, and her PhD degree from the Institute of Photographic Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the supervision of Professor Chen-Ho Tung in 1995. From 1995–1998, she worked at the Institute of Photographic Chemistry as an Associate Professor. After a postdoctoral stay (1997–1998) at the University of Hong Kong working with Professor Chi-Ming Che, she returned to the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as a Full Professor. In 2019, Wu was elected as a member of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research interests are focused on photochemical conversion, including artificial photosynthesis, visible light catalysis for organic transformation, and photoinduced electron transfer, energy transfer and chemical reactions in supramolecular systems. Her recent awards include the third Chinese Chemical Society-Evonik Chemical Innovation Award, the tenth Physical Organic Chemistry Award of China, and the seventh Young Women Scientists Award of China. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.