Nadav Bar

Prof. Nadav Bar is a Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, NTNU, leading the Microbial Feedback Control (MFC) laboratory. His research focuses on integrating biotechnology with control theory to develop feedback systems for microbiological processes. He coordinates major EU projects including iCulture (7.8M€, 2023-2028) and AILEEN (1.5M€, 2023-2028), focusing on AI-driven microbial control and food safety. His lab specializes in real-time bioprocess control using advanced methods like Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Reinforcement Learning, alongside Digital Twin technologies for bioreactor monitoring. Key projects include optimizing food preservation via high-pressure processing (SafeFood, 2016-2019) and COPD diagnosis through systems biology (ERA SysMed-COPD, 2018-2022).

His research spans microbial fermentation optimization, gene regulatory network analysis, and systems biology. Current PhD students include Fabienne Roessler and Yiwen Li. The lab actively recruits students in control engineering, biotechnology, and analytical chemistry. Notable contributions include developing noise reduction algorithms for gene expression data and advancing sensor fusion techniques in bioprocess monitoring.

Research Themes: Feedback control of microorganisms, hybrid modeling with machine learning, optimal control of bio-processes, microbial sensor systems, and COPD systems biology. Lab infrastructure includes state-of-the-art bioreactors, autosamplers, and software tools like MATLAB-CASADI for real-time control.

Key Publications: Recent works focus on robust bioprocess optimization using spent sulfite liquor (2024), advanced state estimation in bioreactors (2023), and high-pressure processing effects on Listeria monocytogenes transcriptomes (2021). Over 50 peer-reviewed articles demonstrate cross-disciplinary impact across biotechnology and control engineering.