These algorithms are now used in computer software on high performance supercomputers for the numerical solution of large sparse linear systems arising from problems involving partial differential equations.

After service in the U.S. Navy during part of World War II, he went to Harvard University to study mathematics and was awarded a master's degree in 1947 and a Ph.D in 1950, working under the supervision of Professor Garrett Birkhoff.

Young began his academic career at the University of Maryland, College Park and he was the first to teach a mathematics course focusing mainly on numerical analysis and computer programming.

The book Iterative Methods for Large Linear Systems (David R. Kincaid and Linda J. Hayes, eds., Academic Press, 1990) contains the invited presentations.

In 2000, a symposium was given at the SIAM Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Young's publication of the SOR method.