Shoresh Shafei has been awarded a 2012 scholarship from the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) for his potential contributions to optics, photonics, or a related field.

Shafei is a graduate student of physics at Washington State University. Under the supervision of professor Mark Kuzyk and in collaboration with adjunct professor Rick Lytel, he is working on nonlinear optical properties of nanoscale quantum graphs as the molecules for future optical device materials.

Shafei is a reviewer for several journals, including the Journal of the Optical Society of America B and New Journal of Physics and was a founding member and president of the SPIE and OSA student chapters at WSU. Based on his leadership and research accomplishments, he received the 2012 President’s Award for Leadership at WSU.

SPIE awarded $350,000 in scholarships to 140 outstanding individuals. SPIE has distributed more than $3.3 million dollars in scholarships, reflecting the society’s commitment to education and to the next generation of optical scientists and engineers around the world.