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.”
Yang Zhao, associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, has been named the UT AgResearch Guthrie Endowed Professor in Precision Livestock Farming. This new professorship recognizes outstanding achievements, national and international prominence, leadership, and collaboration in growing UTIA’s precision livestock farming program. It also rewards faculty driven to accelerate the mission-critical thrust for UT to be the regional, national and global leader for precision livestock farming. In this position, the faculty member is expected to conduct innovations that will benefit poultry or livestock producers and allied industries in Tennessee and beyond while advancing disciplinary science and technology.
Zhao’s research combines agricultural engineering and animal science to address challenges in the poultry industry. His work focuses on precision livestock farming in poultry, leveraging sensors and artificial intelligence to optimize production. He places particular emphasis on poultry housing, animal welfare, behavior and the prevention of disease transmission.
“As livestock and poultry production continues to grow, producers face increasingly complex challenges in managing their operations efficiently,” said Zhao. “Precision livestock farming applies advanced technologies to deliver practical solutions that enhance animal health, welfare, and productivity. It is a great honor to be awarded the endowed professorship in this field, and I’m deeply grateful for the recognition and support. I look forward to continuing research that strengthens the livestock and poultry industries and advances the agricultural sector as a whole.”
Zhao has won numerous awards for his research achievements and in securing funding for his research. He was recognized by UTIA with the 2023 UT AgResearch Dean’s Grantsmanship Award based on the total dollar amount of competitive extramural grants and contracts secured by a faculty member serving as a principal or co-principal investigator. He also won the Sunkist Young Designer Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), the Professional Promise in Research and Creative Achievement Award from UT and the T.J. Whatley Distinguished Young Scientist Award from UTIA.
Earlier this summer, Zhao won the regional 2025 Agricultural Research Innovation Award of Excellence, presented at the Southern Mini Land-Grant Conference, a meeting for agInnovation South, a coalition of directors of state agricultural experiment stations in Southern states and part of the national Association for Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
Zhao, who has been with UTIA for five years, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering at China Agricultural University and his Ph.D. in animal/livestock husbandry and production at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Previously, he worked at Iowa State University and Mississippi 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.