American Oil Chemists’ Society Honors Biosystems Engineering Professor
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Douglas Hayes, Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor in the University of Tennessee Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, has been awarded one of the American Oil Chemists’ Society’s highest honors.
Hayes received the Surfactants and Detergents Division Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes outstanding and commendable service to the surfactants, detergents and soaps industry. The award was presented at the AOCS Annual Internation Meeting held in Montreal, Canada, April 26-30, 2024.
Hayes, who joined the Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science Department within the UT Institute of Agriculture in 2004, conducts research in surfactant self-assembly systems, biodegradable plastics, environmental impacts of nanoplastics, and enzymatic reactions in nonaqueous media. Specifically, his research program is centered on developing molecular understanding of chemical and biochemical processes at interfaces, including those involving bioplastics and surfactant-water-oil systems.
Hayes is a fellow of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Surfactants and Detergents and serves on the editorial board for three other journals. He has coauthored more than 110 journal articles, 23 book chapters and co-edited three books.
He has an appointment through UT AgResearch, teaches classes in the Herbert College of Agriculture, and is a joint UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory faculty member. He was named UTIA’s 2021 Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor, the Institute’s highest honor.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.