UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2024
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrated the accomplishments of some of its top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts at UTIA’s annual awards and promotions luncheon. This year’s ceremony was held in the newly-opened Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on the UTIA campus in Knoxville on August 14, 2024. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the Institute.
UT Institute of Agriculture Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the award winners and praised them for their work. “I continue to be amazed by the dedication, enthusiasm and expertise demonstrated by the impressive work of our UTIA faculty and staff,” says Carver. “The awards are well deserved, and the impacts of these accomplishments are seen across the state and will benefit Tennesseans for generations.”
Kellie Walters, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, is the recipient of the T.J. Whatley Distinguished Young Scientist Award. Established by the late Thomas Whatley, associate dean emeritus of UT AgResearch, this award recognizes a young scientist who has been in a faculty position for no more than seven years, with a minimum of two years of service as a member of the agricultural faculty of the University of Tennessee.
Walters studies vegetable physiology in controlled environments. The goal of her work is to manipulate the growing environment to alter plant physiology, improving production efficiencies and crop quality. She has been with the university for more than 3 years and has been recognized for her research twice. Earlier this year she received the American Society for Horticultural Science Professional Early Career Award for Research, Innovation, and Creativity, and in 2023 she received the UT Office of Undergraduate Research EUReCA Undergraduate Research Mentor Award.
Of receiving the Whatley Award, Walters says, “I feel so honored to receive this award. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you follow your passion, work diligently, and surround yourself with awesome folks.”
Walters received her doctorate in horticulture from Michigan State University in 2020.
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.