Syed Rafay Hasan

Syed Rafay Hasan is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (2009) and M.Eng. (2002) from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, and a B.Eng. (1997) from NED University, Karachi, Pakistan.

• Research Focus: Hardware Security, Deep Learning, Internet of Things, Edge Intelligence, and Digital VLSI Design
• Current Projects: Center for Agile and Intelligent Power Systems (CAIPS) cybersecurity research (subcontractor role with Florida International University, $160,000 budget)
• Key Contributions: 15+ years of continuous NSF REU Site leadership (2016–2019, renewed 2018) for cybersecurity-focused undergraduate research

His recent work examines edge computing vulnerabilities, including adversarial attacks on CNN inference (StAIn, 2023), hardware intrinsic attacks (SoWaF, 2021), and runtime Trojan detection (MacLeR, 2020). Publications span hardware security in 3D ICs, formal verification techniques, and FPGA-based neural network implementations.

• Scientific Recognition: Best Paper Award (Honorable Mention) in Multimedia Systems and Applications at VTC-2024
• Research Trends: 15 most recent articles (2021–2025) analyze edge intelligence security (60%), collaborative CNN models (45%), and hardware Trojan detection (35%) using machine learning and formal verification

Students under his supervision have secured positions at Intel, Georgia Tech Research Institute, and Whirlpool Inc. He teaches core courses in computer design (ECE 4120/5120, 11 years), Digital VLSI (ECE 4130, 10 years), and deep learning implementation (ECE 6900). Collaborations include institutions in Canada, UAE, Pakistan, and industry partners like Intel and Air Force Research Lab.