Rate My Professor Darrin Hanna

Darrin M. Hanna, Ph.D., is a Professor of Engineering at Oakland University with joint appointments in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Bioengineering. He has served as Director of the Engineering Institute since January 2019. Hanna progressed through the academic ranks at Oakland University, starting as Assistant Professor of Engineering in May 2003, advancing to Associate Professor in August 2009, and becoming full Professor in August 2018. He earned his Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Oakland University in 2003, with a dissertation titled "A Novel Method for Generating Microprocessor-less Systems with Applications in Bioengineering," focusing on artificial intelligence, high-level synthesis, and FPGA-based hardware design. Prior degrees include an M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering in 2000 (GPA 4.0) and a B.S. in Engineering with majors in Computer Engineering and Mathematics in 1999 (Engineering GPA 4.0), both from Oakland University. During his undergraduate studies, he received top honors, including the Alfred G. Wilson Award for the top graduating male senior, the Exceptional Achievement Award from the School of Engineering and Computer Science, and the Bragg Award for High Mathematical Achievement. Hanna also holds appointments in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from 2003 to 2008.

Hanna's research specializations encompass embedded artificial intelligence hardware for high-speed big data applications in FPGAs, cybersecurity, biosensors, nano-imaging, signal processing, and biomedical devices. He leads a research laboratory at Oakland University that engages graduate and undergraduate students in theoretical and experimental projects on mixed-mode systems design, precision scan probe microscopy using FPGAs, and high-throughput vehicle networks. Key publications include "The FPOA, a Medium-grained Reconfigurable Architecture for High-level Synthesis" in ACM Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems (2019), "Parametrized Low-complexity Hardware Architecture of an H.264-based Video Encoder for FPGAs" in Journal of Microprocessors and Microsystems (2024), "Optimal FPGA Implementation of Dense Extended Kalman Filter for Simultaneous Cell State Estimation" in IEEE Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (2024), and "Cybersecurity Education with Generative AI: Creating Interactive Labs from Microelectronic Fundamentals to IoT Security Exploitation" in Journal of the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (2026). His contributions have earned awards such as the 2003 Michigan Economic Development Corporation Technology Commercialization Success Award, the 2007 IEEE Computer Society Undergraduate Computer Science and Engineering Teaching Award, the 2015 Oakland University School of Engineering and Computer Science Teaching Excellence Award, the 2017 Best Journal Paper of the Year Award, and the 2025 Service Excellence Award. Hanna serves as Editor for the Journal of Supercomputing - Advanced Embedded Systems.