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 Francisco, the Haskell Award for Distinguish Teaching from University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Author & Artist Award of San Jose State University. He was named as No.1 tech voice to follow, technology fortune teller and influencer in 2018 by LinkedIn, his research has featured in Forbes and IEEE and MIT Technology Review, and he has been interviewed by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC, NPR, NHK, FOX, and the Washington Post. 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 three awards: San Jose State University Author and Artist Award, One of the Best Technology Books of all Time Award, and One of the Best AI Models Books of All Time Award. His second book was "Blockchain Technology and Applications" which won San Jose State University Author and Artist, One of the Best New Private Blockchain Books and has been used at Stanford University and other prestigious schools in the USA. Another book, "Quantum Computing" is forthcoming in 2023. He studied Electrical Engineering at Lehigh University, Cybersecurity at Harvard University and Digital Transformation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).