DIPPER Lab Congratulates Nana Kwadwo Akrasi-Mensah on Successful PhD Defense Advancing Scalable Blockchain-IIoT Solutions for Food Supply Chains

The Distributed IoT Platforms, Privacy, and Edge-Intelligence Research (DIPPER Lab) proudly congratulates our researcher, Nana Kwadwo Akrasi-Mensah, on the successful defense of his PhD thesis at the Department of Computer Engineering, KNUST.

 

This achievement marks not only a personal academic milestone but also a significant contribution to the evolving field of blockchain-enabled  IIoT systems.

In his research, titled “A Multi-Objective Neural Combinatorial Optimization Method for Storage-Efficient Block Selection in Blockchain-IIoT Applications,” Nana addresses a key limitation in current blockchain infrastructure — the rapidly growing storage demands placed on peer nodes, which hinder scalability and degrade system performance.

To tackle this, the study explores neural combinatorial optimization methods, focusing on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) and attention-based models to effectively reduce storage overhead.

The goal is to enhance blockchain performance and improve its application in industrial environments where computational resources are limited.

The solutions developed in this thesis are designed for blockchain-IIoT applications, with a particular focus on critical sectors like food supply chain management.

The aim is to make participation possible for smaller stakeholders involved in collaborative production.

In regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, widespread issues with food contamination and adulteration cause serious health concerns and undermine trust in local producers.

By leveraging blockchain-IIoT systems to improve traceability across the supply chain, this work seeks to enhance food safety, rebuild consumer confidence, and promote sustainable local agriculture.

We are incredibly proud of Nana’s accomplishment and the impact his research will have on the future of blockchain-IIoT systems.