Dr. Ali Akbari is a Professor of Economics with broad experience in research design and methodology. He has been active professionally - publishing articles, presenting papers, serving on professional programs and consulting. Dr. Akbari is an articulate urban economist with more than two decades of teaching and research experience. He is currently a Professor of Economics at California Lutheran University. He has been teaching at other universities such as: Pepperdine University and University of Southern California.

Dr. Akbari is the Director of the Center for Economic Research at California Lutheran University. As an experienced researcher, he has participated in various research projects on national and local levels. His specialized areas of teaching and research include: Urban and Regional Economics, Research Methods, Public Opinion and Consumer Surveys, Consumer Satisfaction Studies Community Needs Assessment, and Housing and Transportation Analysis. He has published two textbooks in economics: Explorations in Macroeconomics and Economic Way of Thinking. As a senior researcher for several projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, he has published so many research papers for NSF. His latest book chapter "Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies" was published in 2006. He is a member of the American Economic Association and Western Economic Association.