[1] Beginning in 1967, Wallace attended Brown University, where he worked on the pioneering hypertext File Retrieval and Editing System with Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson.

[4] Wallace worked at the Retail Computer Store in Seattle[5] where he learned about Microsoft after Bill Gates put up a sign advertising for programmers.

He joined Microsoft in 1978 as the 9th employee and his first project was to connect a computer to an IBM Selectric typewriter so the company could print software manuals.

In 1998, they started the Promind Foundation, which helped support scientific research, public education, and harm reduction efforts related to psychedelics.

Wallace also served on the Board of Directors for the Heffter Research Institute and helped financially support the most important organizations in the field, including the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Heffter Research Institute, Erowid (responsible for half of Erowid's funding from 2000–2002), DanceSafe, the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, EcstasyData, Black Rock Arts Foundation, and a number of other projects.

On hearing of Wallace's death, Paul Allen was quoted as saying, "I remember Bob as a gentle soul who was soft-spoken, but creative, persistent and meticulous in his programming and thinking."