Faculty Highlights

UT faculty are leaders in their fields, making groundbreaking contributions to research, teaching, and service. From prestigious national awards and fellowships to innovative research that transforms industries and communities, UTK faculty continually set new standards for excellence. We are proud to highlight these accomplishments and celebrate their dedication to advancing knowledge and inspiring students. Explore their stories and discover the impact of their work, both on campus and beyond.

Book Award Connects UT Professor to Influential Roster of Historians

UT history Associate Professor Victor Petrov joined a celebrated group of scholars in his area of study this year as his recent book Balkan Cyberia earned the 2024 Barbara Jelavich Book Prize. Barbara Jelavich was a distinguished and internationally respected scholar who published several works focusing on the same region that interests Petrov. The prize is awarded annually by…
Four UT Faculty Members Named SEC Academic Leadership Development Fellows

Four faculty members from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, were selected as 2024-25 Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows. The program seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond. Representing a range of leadership positions and academic interests, the fellows were named through a competitive process after…
Dr. Ruben Parra-Cardona Awarded National Hispanic Science Network 2024 Award

Dr. Ruben Parra-Cardona, the CSW Roger and Carol Nooe Endowed Chair, was recently awarded the 2024 National Hispanic Science Network (NHSN) award, which recognizes an established scholar with a research trajectory that integrates science and practice. This award is reserved for scholars with a long-term research trajectory aimed at serving Latinx populations. As a doctoral…
Faculty and Staff Members Named to Knox News ‘40 Under 40’

One faculty member and two staff members from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have been named to the Knox News 40 Under 40 class of 2024. Dustin Gilbert is an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Tickle College of Engineering. His research focuses on nanotechnology, with an emphasis on magnetism and spin…
With $5M Award, NSF Selects UT to Lead Global Center for Sustainable Bioproducts

The University of Tennessee (UT) has received a $5 million grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to start tackling one of the world’s biggest scientific challenges. UT’s award is part of the 2024 Global Centers competition, a nearly $82 million international funding collaboration among agencies in the US, Canada, Finland, Japan, the Republic…
UTIA Researchers Win Grant for Automation Technology for Nursery Industry

University of Tennessee Extension and UT AgResearch scientists have been awarded part of a nearly $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study ways to use automation and robotics to address the labor shortage in the nursery crops industry. Growing plants in a nursery is highly dependent on manual labor, making this…
Maroulas Appointed Associate Vice Chancellor, Director of AI Tennessee

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has appointed Vasileios Maroulas associate vice chancellor and director of the AI Tennessee Initiative. AI Tennessee was established in 2022 to strengthen UT’s research in AI, expand the number of UT students developing AI skills and competencies, and position the state of Tennessee as a national and global leader in the…
Three Faculty Members Named Chancellor’s Professors

Chancellor Donde Plowman has named a new group of Chancellor’s Professors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Derek Alderman, David Anderson and Bonnie Ownley. The distinction honors exceptional faculty members for outstanding scholarly achievement and contributions to their fields. “These three faculty members, each from a different college, represent the best of our university with their commitment…
UT Veterinary Professor Named President of National Board

Brian Whitlock, the Charles and Julie Wharton Professor of Food Animal Field Services at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named president of the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT). He was named Theriogenologist of the Year in 2022. Theriogenology is veterinary reproductive medicine. Whitlock joined the veterinary college in 2008 and teaches and…
Cao, He Receive Collaborative Award Grants

Qing “Charles” Cao and Qiang He are part of a new collaborative grant program led by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine-Knoxville (UTHSC COM-K) to support research and scholarly activities addressing health issues across Tennessee and beyond. The program will fund six awards totaling more than $450,000 to support teams of clinicians, faculty, and…