By Simon Baker, student news writer, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky, – Dr. Ming Wang, a former atheist who grew up in Hangzhou, China, during the Cultural Revolution, knows a life without hope in Christ.
Now, Wang will share his story at Campbellsville University’s chapel service at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Ransdell Chapel, 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campbellsville.
Wang will speak about the relationship between faith and science.
Wang is the founding director of the Wang Vision Institute and a clinical professor for Meharry Medical College, both in Nashville, Tenn.
In 1966, the Cultural Revolution caused the closure of all universities across China, and the Chinese government deported millions to labor camps in rural areas during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976.
During the Cultural Revolution, Wang avoided going to the labor camps by getting a job with the government’s song-and-dance propaganda troupe.
According to his biography, Wang came to America with only $50 and fought hardship and racial discrimination.
In 1976, after the Cultural Revolution ended and the government reopened universities, for Wang to attend college, he had to re-enter school and jump from 9th to 12th grade, having never studied in the 10th-12th grades.
He became one of only four 12th graders from his province to be admitted into college and was accepted into the prestigious University of Science and Technology of China.
Wang has performed over 55,000 procedures, including on more than 4,000 doctors. He has published over 100 papers, including one in the world-renowned journal Nature and ten ophthalmic textbooks.
Wang is also the co-founder of Common Ground Network. This network calls American Christians to stand together against persecution and threats to religious liberty worldwide.
According to his biography, Wang fought hardship and racial discrimination, but eventually graduated with the highest honor from Harvard and MIT.
He holds a Doctor of Medicine and a Ph.D. in laser physics.
Wang, whose story was featured in the film “God’s Not Dead,” believes there is common ground between faith and science. The movie “Sight” is based on his autobiography “From Darkness to Sight,” co-starring Greg Kinnear.
Wang’s work “eventually led to his invention of new biotechnology that takes advantage of fetal scarless healing to help adults and still protect the life of a fetus,” his biography said.
The breakthrough technology has helped restore sight to millions worldwide.
The amniotic membrane contact lens, which Wang invented and holds two U.S. patents for, has been used by tens of thousands of eye doctors throughout the world in nearly every nation, and millions have had their eyesight restored.
The Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, founded by Wang in 2003, has helped patients from over 40 states in the U.S. and 55 countries, with all sight restoration surgeries performed free of charge.
In 2016, Wang was named the Kiwanis Nashvillian of the Year for his lifelong dedication to “helping blind orphaned children from around the world.”
Wang is also a recipient of the Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association of Chinese American Physicians, an honorary doctorate degree from Trevecca Nazarene University and NPR’s Philanthropist of the Year Award.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with an enrollment of nearly 12,000 students. The university offers over 100 programs of study including doctoral, masters, bachelors, associate and certification programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.