Stephen Wiesner is the son of Jerome Wiesner and Laya Wiesner. He received his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University. In 2006 he shared the Rank Prize in Optoelectronics with Charles H. Bennett, and Gilles Brassard for quantum cryptography. In 2019, he received one of six Micius Quantum Prizes, along with Bennett, Brassard, Artur Ekert, Anton Zeilinger and Pan Jianwei for quantum communication.