UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – When Niki Labbé sees woody plants and trees, she doesn’t just see greenery. She sees potential: potential fuels and potential products that can improve economies, the environment and our lives.
A biomass chemistry professor in the University of Tennessee School of Natural Resources and director of the UT Center for Renewable Carbon, Labbé is the recipient of the 2025 Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor Award from the UT Institute of Agriculture. The award is UTIA’s greatest honor and is named for the benefactor who made it possible. The award was presented on July 30 during an annual luncheon celebrating the accomplishments of some of the institute’s top faculty, staff, researchers and Extension experts.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the luncheon and praised the honorees, including Labbé, for their work. “The enthusiasm and expertise demonstrated by our UTIA faculty and staff is unparalleled,” he said. “I am always in awe of their dedication to providing real life solutions to the people of Tennessee. These well-deserved awards represent impacts and accomplishments that benefit Tennesseans and society now and for years to come.”
The Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor Award is granted to a faculty member who has served at the rank of professor for a period of at least seven years and is a recognition of consistent outstanding performance over this period. The award recognizes excellence in teaching, research and Extension or clinical practice. Leadership and reputation through service at the national or international levels is also expected.
Labbé has served at the institute for 23 years. Her research interest focuses on understanding properties of biomass, including appearance, variability and potential for conversion to sustainable products including biobased chemicals and fuels, particularly their potential to be converted to value-added products in the context of circular bioeconomy systems (CBS). Labbé says, “The complexity of CBS requires a convergent research effort to connect systems with local solutions—local resources, local manufacturing, local workforce and local sustainability and how these solutions support each other in the regional and global economy. As opposed to the linear ‘take-make-use-dispose’ model, CBS is a holistic approach that prioritizes the closure of biomaterial and energy loops and emphasizes responsible end-of-service life solutions.”
The chemist’s research program focuses on the fractionation and conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into a portfolio of products. “Biomass has been extensively investigated as a source of carbon-based feedstock for fuel production, but to develop an economically viable and sustainable system, the entire biomass must be utilized and converted into fuel, chemicals and materials in the same way that crude oil serves as the carbon feedstock in petrochemical refineries. With CBS the intent is to keep each carbon atom in use as long as possible,” Labbé adds.
Labbé is also currently serving as the UT lead investigator for the UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory convergent research initiative for CBS. Supported by the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII), this is a $20-million, five-year effort to accelerate world-leading innovation and establish UT and ORNL as national leaders in CBS research and development by leveraging the strengths of ORNL and UTIA’s long-established work across the state to partner with two crucial Tennessee industries: auto manufacturing and agriculture/forestry to create a CBS testbed.
When learning she was named the 2025 UTIA Institute Professor, Labbé said, “I am profoundly honored to receive this award and truly grateful for the recognition of my contributions. I dedicate this award to the incredible students, research associates and postdocs I have had the privilege to collaborate with over the years. Their dedication and hard work embody this award.”
Labbé has been previously recognized by the UT System as the recipient of the President’s 2024 ‘Excel in All We Do’ Award. In 2020 she received the UT AgResearch Impact Award. She is also serving as the UT lead in the National Science Foundation BRIDGES Engine that is led by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. BRIDGES is a forward-thinking initiative to revolutionize rural regions in Tennessee and Alabama by making them leaders in sustainable biobased manufacturing. Labbé’s role involves moving the proposal forward through various phases of review. She is actively engaged in discussions with potential collaborators and is leveraging her network to facilitate the project’s success.
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.