Growing up in Hong Kong, Dr Huang attended Munsang College, a Christian school of which his father was the headmaster. He entered HKU in 1938 on a scholarship and graduated in 1942. During Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, he escaped to China and, after teaching chemistry for two years, went to Oxford in 1944. After receiving a doctorate in 1947, Dr Huang pursued post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago. He joined the University of Malaya in 1951, where he served as Professor of Chemistry and Dean of Science, and became Vice-Chancellor of Nanyang University in Singapore in 1969.

Dr Huang was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa from HKU in 1968, served as the Vice-Chancellor at HKU for 14 years from 1972 to 1986. He was a pioneer in many ways, leaving a lasting impact on the institution.

Under his leadership, HKU experienced an unprecedented period of growth on numerous fronts - doubling the size of our student body, broadening the scope of our academic disciplines by increasing the number of Faculties from five to nine, expanding the size of the campus while unifying it, and initiating a culture of institutional advancement that continues to flourish today. Following his retirement, Dr Huang continued to engage with the University and the Hong Kong community by fostering alumni connections and supporting research initiatives at tertiary institutions.