PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jeffrey Shainline

Also known as Jeff Shainline, Jeffrey M. Shainline

Jeffrey Shainline is an AI hardware founder whose research explores superconducting circuits and optical communication for neural networks. He earned a physics PhD at Brown in 2010, joined NIST as an NRC postdoctoral fellow in 2013, and began developing neuron-like circuits in its quantum optics group. His papers proposed spiking neurons in 2017, designed loop neurons in 2018, and demonstrated integrated optoelectronic synapses in 2022. He left NIST to start Great Sky in October 2024 and received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in January 2025. The company announced its superconducting optoelectronic AI hardware in March 2026; as of October 2026, he is its founder and CEO.

Now at
Great Sky
Badges

Timeline

  1. 2010–2013

    Physics PhD and photonics link

    He completes a physics PhD at Brown in 2010. From 2010 to 2013, he works as a postdoc with a CU Boulder, MIT and Berkeley team that demonstrates the first optical communication link between a microprocessor and random-access memory.

  2. 2013

    Joining NIST's quantum optics group

    In 2013, he joins NIST as an NRC postdoctoral fellow in Rich Mirin and Sae Woo Nam's quantum optics group. He combines integrated photonics with single-photon sources and detectors while exploring circuits that behave like neurons.

  3. 2017

    Proposing neuromorphic circuits

    In 2017, he coauthors a paper proposing a hybrid semiconductor-superconductor platform for large-scale neuromorphic computing. The design uses few-photon light-emitting diodes and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors as spiking neurons.

  4. 2018

    Designing loop neurons

    In 2018, he publishes designs for superconducting optoelectronic loop neurons. The circuits use few-photon signals to communicate neuronal firing and update synaptic weights, with spike-timing-dependent plasticity.

  5. 2022

    Single-photon synapses

    In 2022, he coauthors a demonstration of superconducting optoelectronic synapses that monolithically integrate nanowire single-photon detectors and Josephson junctions. The circuits apply analog weighting and leaky integration to single-photon signals.

  6. October 2024

    Starting Great Sky

    In October 2024, he leaves NIST to start Great Sky, a company founded in late 2024 to build computational intelligence hardware.

  7. January 2025

    A Presidential Early Career Award

    In January 2025, he receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for a neuromorphic computer design with many brain-like neuron connections and low operating power.

  8. As of October 2026

    Founder and CEO of Great Sky

    He is Great Sky's founder and CEO, and the company builds superconducting optoelectronic hardware for AI on a foundation of NIST research. In March 2026, Great Sky announces its public debut after integrating its components into complete neural networks.

Career

  1. Since 2024Great SkyFounder, CEO
  2. 2013–2024NISTNRC postdoctoral fellow

Education

  1. 2010Brown UniversityPhD

From the biography.

Videos

YouTube videos in which Jeffrey Shainline speaks or appears, newest first. A model chose them from YouTube search results. List updated 20 October 2026.

  1. Jeffrey Shainline: Neuromorphic Computing and Optoelectronic Intelligence | Lex Fridman Podcast #225Lex Fridman · 26 September 2021 · 2 h 57 min

Video data from YouTube API Services. By watching you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service. How we use YouTube data.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Jeffrey Shainline. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public rolesIncludes NIST. Of 216 AI researchers who entered public life, 83 held advisory seats and 58 took public roles. Another 97 people moved from public careers into AI organizations or research, with 62% of dated records starting from 2020 on.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes NIST. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes NIST. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jeffrey Shainline yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Jeff Shainline | Silicon Flatirons siliconflatirons.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. The History of Great Sky greatsky.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Superconducting Optoelectronic Circuits for Neuromorphic Computing | NIST nist.gov. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Circuit designs for superconducting optoelectronic loop neurons | NIST nist.gov. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Superconducting optoelectronic single-photon synapses nature.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. About Us - Great Sky greatsky.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Jeffrey Shainline Receives 2024 PECASE | NIST nist.gov. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Great Sky Emerges from NIST: A New Kind of AI Hardware Company - Great Sky greatsky.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.