Professor Ahmed Banafa has extensive experience in research, operations and management, with a focus on IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity and AI. He is the recipient of a Certificate of Honor from the City and County of San Franciscoand the Author & Artist Award 2019 of San Jose State University. He was named number 1 tech voice to follow, technology fortune teller and influencer by LinkedIn in 2018, his research has been featured in Forbes, IEEE and MIT Technology Review, and he has been interviewed by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC, NPR and Fox. He is a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel. He is the author of the book Secure and Smart Internet of Things (IoT) using Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which won 3 awards, the San Jose State University Author & Artist Award, One of the Best Technology eBooks of all Time Award, and One of the Best AI Model Books of All Time Award. His second book was Blockchain Technology and Applications used at Stanford University and other prestigious schools in the USA. He studied Electrical Engineering at Lehigh University, Cybersecurity at Harvard University and Digital Transformation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).