The following staff members, supported, and sponsored scholars are also graduate students in Plant Sciences:
- Sarah Armstrong, PhD student
- Rhys Fielder, MS student
- David McIntosh, PhD student
- Mase Merkel, MS student
Faculty
Gary Edward Bates
Professor & Department Head | Plant Sciences
Specialty: forage production
Becky Bowling
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Turfgrass
Jim Brosnan
Professor & Director | Plant Sciences
Specialty: turfgrass management; weed science; herbicide resistance
Natalie Ruth Bumgarner
Associate Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Consumer Horticulture- Field and Greenhouse Vegetable Production
David M. Butler
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Sustainable and Organic Crop Production
Feng Chen
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Functional Genomics
Amy Fulcher
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Nursery Crops Production
Tarek Abdel Fattah Hewezi
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Molecular Biology
Brandon Joseph Horvath
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Turfgrass Pathology
Tabibul Islam
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Controlled Environment Agriculture, Protected Fruit Crop Physiology
William E Klingeman III
Professor & Assistant Department Head | Plant Sciences
Role: Graduate Coordinator
Specialty: Urban Landscape and Production Horticulture Research
Dave Lockwood
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Fruit & Nut Crops
Reggie Millwood
Research Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Genome Engineering
Renata Nave Oakes
Associate Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Forage Management and Systems
Alessandro Occhialini
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Synthetic Plant Biology – Novel Technology Applications
Vince Pantalone
Institute Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Breeder, Soybean Breeder, Plant Geneticist, seed protein, seed fatty acid.
Bruno C. Pedreira
Associate Professor & Director | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Forage-Livestock Systems
Andy Pulte
Distinguished Lecturer And Director | Plant Sciences
Role: Undergraduate Coordinator
Specialty: Horticulture, Public Horticulture
Tyson Brant Raper
Associate Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Cotton and Small Grains
Mitchell Dale Richmond
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Tobacco, Hemp, Hops & Specialty Crop Production and Agronomy
Michael Ross
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Landscape Architecture, Ecological Landscape Design, Urban Ecology, Sustainability, Resilience
Carl E Sams
Institute Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Specialty Crops Plant Nutrition, Postharvest Physiology
Avat Shekoofa
Associate Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Crop physiology and water management
John Charles Sorochan
Distinguished Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Turfgrass Science, Athletic Field Safety
Amanda Diane Spangler
Lecturer | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Horticulture
Larry Steckel
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Weed Science, Crop Production Systems
Neal Stewart
Professor & Director | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Molecular Genetics
John Clinton Stier
Associate Dean | Herbert College of Agriculture Administration
Specialty: Turfgrass Science
Virginia Roseanna Sykes
Associate Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Agroecology, Variety Testing
Kellie Jean Walters
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Controlled Environment Agriculture, Hydroponic Production, Plant Physiology
Clint Wayman
Assistant Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Sustainable and Ecological Landscape Design
Dennis R West
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Corn and Wheat Breeding
Annette Lynn Wszelaki
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Vegetable production, organic and sustainable production, high tunnels, produce safety
Staff
Hafiz Muhammad Khalid Abbas
Post-Doctoral Research Associate | Plant Sciences
Shannon Bowman
Administrative Support Assistant II | Plant Sciences
Gregory K Breeden
Extension Specialist I | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Weed Control (Turf and Roadsides)
Lauren Carver
Research Technician III | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Horticulture
Victoria Cavaliere
Recruitment And Marketing Specialist | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Meteorology, Science Communication, Broadcast Television
Nicole Coffey
Research Tech-Plant Molecular Nematology | Plant Sciences
Drew Denton
Corn & Soybean Agronomy Research Assoc I | Plant Sciences
Kyley Hampton Dickson
Research Scientist | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Turfgrass Management; Sports Turf Management
Anna Duncan
Extension Specialist I | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Digital Certification and Training Program Coordinator
Alanna Brianne Eveland
Researcher – Soybean Breeding & Genetics | Plant Sciences
Rhys Fielder
Turfgrass Researcher – World Cup 2026 | Plant Sciences
Ken Goddard
Research Consultant | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Agriculture and Comminity Resource Development
Otavio Goulart de Almeida
Post Doctoral Research Associate | Plant Sciences
Whitney Hale
Extension Program Assistant III | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Education Coordinator at UT Gardens, Knoxville
Holly Sledjeski Jones
Ext Program Assistant III | Plant Sciences
Specialty: UT Gardens, Knoxville | Horticulture | Communication | Event Rental Coordination
Brooke Keadle Emery
Extension Assistant – Produce Safety | Plant Sciences
James D Newburn
Managing Director – UT Gardens Knoxville | Plant Sciences
Will Phillips
Research Associate – Weed Control | Plant Sciences
Celeste Scott
Horticulture Extension Specialist | Plant Sciences
Specialty: My area of focus is residential and consumer horticulture.
Beth Shannon
Research Associate I | UT Gardens/State Botanical Garden
Specialty: Membership Coordinator
Derrick Ryan Stowell
Program Administrator | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Education and Horticultural Therapy Program Administrator for the UT Gardens.
Mst Shamira Sultana
Post-Doctoral Research Associate | Plant Sciences
Graduate Students
Rodrigo Alberti Garrido
Graduate Research Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Conlan Micheal Burbrink
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Statistical and Quantitative Methods; Turfgrass Performance Testing
Gracie Carter
Farmer To Farmer Program Manager – Asia | Smith International Center
Dereck Corbin
Research Associate | Plateau AgResearch and Education Center
Felipe Fonseca Nassar
Graduate Research Assistant, MS Student | Plant Sciences
Jacob Richard Friedrich
Graduate Research Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Controlled Environment Vegetable Physiology
Colton Allen Fuller
Graduate Research Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Axel David Gonzalez Murillo
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Sarah Graham
Graduate Research Assistant, MS Student | Plant Sciences
Maureen Kahiu
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Kaitlyn Makenzie Knight
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Peitong Li
FR-Graduate Student, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Science
Vanessa Hinojosa Martinez
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Justin L. McKinney
Research Center Director | Northeast Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center
Samuel Kudzo Okai
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Soil fertility/agronomy
Benjamin Donnelly Pritchard
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Turfgrass Weed Science
Sally Reed
Graduate Research Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Systems Agronomy
Smirti Shahi
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Cotton physiology and stress management
Logan Neale Smith
Graduate Research Assistant, Phd Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Turfgrass Weed Science
Aaron Gragg Vincent
Graduate Research Assistant, Ms Student | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Plant Molecular Genetics
James T Ward
Graduate Research Assistant, MS Student | Plant Sciences
