BAHAR ALIAKBARIAN, Sr. Director, R&D, Axia Institute, Michigan State University

•   Dr. Aliakbarian is the Senior Director of Research & Development at the Axia Institute and an Associate Professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University. She completed her Ph.D. in Chemical, Process, and Material Engineering from the School of Innovative Sciences and Technologies at the University of Genoa (Italy) in 2009. Before joining MSU in 2017, she held positions at the University of Genoa, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology, and the University of Sydney.

•   Bahar has received numerous prestigious awards and fellowships, including the AIM Tedd William Award, the MSU Academy for Global Engagement Fellowship, the MTRAC AgBio Innovation Award, the Italian Scientific Qualification Award, the European Social Fund in Liguria Region for Postdoctoral Research Award, and the Australian Endeavour Research Award.

•   Dr. Aliakbarian leads a multidisciplinary team focused on using engineering and smart technologies to enhance food and pharmaceutical supply chain security and sustainability. She manages the Axia RFID Lab, one of the first labs worldwide pioneering research on RFID applications in business sectors such as healthcare, food and agriculture, and advanced manufacturing.

•   Bahar actively contributes to shaping the future of RFID in healthcare, serving as an Ad Hoc member of the GS1 Healthcare US Executive Leadership Committee and a member of the RAIN Alliance Healthcare Workgroup, among other roles. She is also a sought-after speaker at industry and academic events, with a prolific body of work that includes over 90 peer-reviewed articles, four book chapters, and four patents.