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 the Certificate of Honor from the City and County of San Francisco and Author & Artist Award 2019 of San Jose State University. He was named as #1 tech voice to follow, technology fortune teller and influencer by LinkedIn in 2018, his research has featured on Forbes, IEEE and MIT Technology Review, and he has been interviewed by ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, BBC, NPR, Washington Post, and Fox. He is a member of the MIT Technology Review Global Panel. Ahmed is the author of award-winning books, including Secure and Smart Internet of Things (IoT) using Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which won three awards including Best Technology Books of all Time, and One of the Best AI Models Books of All Time. His second book was Blockchain Technology and Applications won One of the Best New Private Blockchain Books and is 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).