UT Institute of Agriculture Presents Top Faculty and Staff Awards for 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The accomplishments of the faculty and staff of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture were celebrated at an annual awards luncheon held on the UT Knoxville campus in the new Agriculture and Natural Resources Building on July 30. Many of the awards are gifts made possible by faculty, alumni and friends of the institute.
UTIA Senior Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice President Keith Carver hosted the luncheon and praised the honorees 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.”
Tong (Toni) Wang, Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor in the Department of Food Science, received the AgResearch Impact Award, which is presented to an AgResearch faculty or professional staff member whose efforts have had a profound effect on improving the efficiency, sustainability and/or economic viability of the food and fiber industry of rural areas of Tennessee.
Wang, who came to UTIA six years ago after 19 years at Iowa State University, specializes in food chemistry. She works to improve food quality, safety and public health, reduce waste and environmental impact, and create new applications for biobased materials in food, feed and renewable energy. Wang’s research projects include improving the freezing quality of dairy foods and modifying vegetable oils, cereal and eggs to enhance nutritional and functional properties.
She has won numerous awards from the university and national organizations. Last year, Wang won the UT AgResearch Dean’s Grantsmanship Award, as she has been supported by millions of dollars in funding from multiple federal and industry sources including the National Science Foundation. Her efforts have led to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. She also received the 2024 and 2025 UT Knoxville Outstanding Graduate Student Support Award from the UT Knoxville Graduate Senate; the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) Best Paper Award in 2023 and UTIA’s Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor in 2022. Wang was recognized in 2020 with the AOCS Alton E. Bailey Award for Outstanding Research and Exceptional Service in the field of lipids and associated products. She became a Fellow of the AOCS in 2016 and currently serves on the governing board for that organization.
“I am honored to be selected to receive this award. I truly believe the Science with Practice (ISU motto) and Real. Life. Solutions. (UTIA motto) aspects of conducting research and hope to continue my journey of helping our students to develop problem-solving skills and our stakeholders to address their real-life challenges,” Wang said. She received a UTRF patent award in 2024 and has two Research License and Materials Transfer Agreements based on other IPs.
Wang began her seven-year bachelor’s and master’s studies at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University in China and received her second master’s in food science from the University of Arkansas and her Ph.D. in food sciences from Iowa State University.
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.