Yichen Shen is a Chinese-American Physicist, Research Scientist, and Entrepreneur based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lightelligence. ^[1] In 2018, Shen was chosen to be on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Shen is originally from Hangzhou, China and graduated from Hangzhou Foreign Language School. ^[1] He attended Nanyang Technological University where he participated in Soccer and the Physics Student Club and graduated with a BS in physics. He enrolled in The Johns Hopkins University where he was involved in Phi Beta Kappa, Mathematics Club, and Robotics Club. ^[1] Shen would graduate Johns Hopkins with a degree in physics and mathematics and maintained a 3.94/4.0 GPA. ^[1] Shen would earn his Doctor of Philosophy in applied physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ^[1]

In September 2017, Shen founded Lightelligence and is developing an optical AI accelerator.

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Shen has received a number of honors and awards including Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy, MIT 100K Business Plan Launch Competition Grand Winner, Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad, American Physics Society Leroy Apker Award Finalist, MIT Goulder Presidential Fellowship, Donald E. Kerr medal for excellence in physics, and Provost Undergraduate Research Award. ^[1]