UT AgResearch

We were honored to celebrate Cyndie Nichols as she retires after 34 years of dedicated service to the University of Tennessee. Throughout her UT career—serving in multiple roles and supporting AgResearch and UTIA—Cyndie has made a lasting impact through her leadership and commitment. We’ll miss her greatly, but we’re excited for her as she begins this next chapter. Thank you, Cyndie!

UTIA Schedules Beef Heifer Development School for May 21 Third annual UT Bred Heifer Sale is scheduled for next day

We were delighted to see our industry partners Tracy Rafferty, Executive Director of the TN Poultry Association, recognized for the Industry Sponsor Award and David Wilds, VP of Operations of Koch Foods for the distinguished alumni award at the UT Animal Science Awards Banquet.

This is exciting news for AgResearch and UTIA!

We’re excited to announce that Orlando Rojas has been named the University of Tennessee, Knoxville-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for circular bioeconomy—the first Governor’s Chair for the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

An internationally recognized leader in bio-based materials, Rojas will help connect Tennessee’s strengths in agriculture with advanced materials and manufacturing—driving innovation that supports both the state and the nation.

His appointment reflects continued momentum across the UT–ORNL partnership and strengthens our ability to recruit top talent, grow research capacity and expand impact across our UT-ORNL research enterprise. Read the full announcement here: https://utorii.com/ut-ornl-recruit-bio-based-materials-leader-to-advance-u-s-bioeconomy/

Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education
UT President Randy BoydUT Research, Innovation & Economic
UT AgResearch
UT System

Plan to join us June 9!

Fruits of the Backyard Field Day Scheduled for June 9 Blackberry and fruit tree care among the topics at 19th annual event

Congratulations to everyone; what a night for celebration!

Congratulations to Scott Lenaghan and Alex Pfotenhauer for receiving the 2026 UTK Chancellor’s Innovation Fund Award to enhance their “Development of self-replicating RNA for spray-on RNAi pesticides". We’re excited to see how they further develop the impactful technology.

Congratulations to Jenn DeBruyn and Joe Zhuang, UTIA professors in the Department of Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science for their election as 2025 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the lifetime appointment on the AAAS Council.

Congratulations to Kellie Walters on an outstanding invited presentation this afternoon at the agInnovation and ASRED Joint Annual Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico! Kellie showcased exciting, innovative controlled environment agriculture (CEA) research, and the talk title said it all: “From Physiology to Profitability: Advancing CEA.”

Way to go Dr. Steckel, we are proud of you!

Steckel Elected Fellow by W**d Science Society of America UTIA w**d scientist recognized for career achievements