Yi Shi received his B.S. degree from University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China, in 1998, a M.S. degree from Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2001, a second M.S. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, in 2003, all in computer science, and a Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2007. His Ph.D. thesis title is "Algorithms and Optimization for Wireless Networks". He is a Research Scientist (working with Prof. Y. Thomas Hou) in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech.

His research focuses on algorithms and optimization for cognitive radio wireless networks, MIMO and cooperative communication networks, sensor networks, and ad hoc networks. His work has appeared in leading IEEE and ACM journals and top-tier international conferences (ACM Mobicom, ACM Mobihoc, and IEEE Infocom).

He was a recipient of Best Paper Award at IEEE INFOCOM 2008. He was a recipient of Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Students Abroad in 2006. While an undergraduate, Yi was a recipient of Meritorious Award in International Mathematical Contest in Modeling in 1997 and 1998.

Dr. Shi was a guest lecturer in ECE/CS 5566 Network Architectures and Protocols II (Spring 2008), ECE/CS 6570 Advanced Foundation of Networking (Fall 2007, Spring 2005), and ECE 4614 Telecommunication Networks (Spring 2006).