Ngu was educated at the
University of Western Australia, where she earned bachelor's degrees in science and in computer science (with honours) in 1981 and 1982, and completed her Ph.D. in computer science in 1990. She became a lecturer and then senior lecturer at the
University of New South Wales, beginning in 1992 and retaining a position there as an adjunct associate professor until 2006. In the meantime, in 2002, she moved to Texas State University in 2002, as an associate professor of computer science, and was promoted to full professor in 2010. ==Recognition==