Born and raised in Nesher, Israel, Shai matriculated from the Hebrew Reali School of Haifa, majoring in
physics, economics, Arabic, and English Literature. He completed four and a half years of military service with the rank First Lieutenant and currently holds the rank of Captain (in the reserves). He went on to earn a double BSc in electrical engineering and physics from the Technion, in the excellence program of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

Shai has been fascinated from a young age not only with science (he was touted as one of Israel’s “future scientists” at the 25th Wolf Prize Convention), but also with other subjects, such as history, mythology, arts and sports. Among other hobbies, he plays the clarinet, sings in a band and occasionally contributes articles to Israeli sport blogs and newspapers.

Shai hopes to make use of light for the betterment of humankind. With his advisor, Prof. Bartal, he is investigating the topological traits of light at the nanoscale and the ways in which they can be transferred to matter. Aside from its theoretical contribution, his research could enable new schemes in quantum information processing and particle nano-manipulation, while creating novel, tunable radiation sources. He is also participating in several other scientific endeavors, in collaboration with over 10 research groups in and outside of Israel.