Faculty
Robert Burns
Distinguished Professor | Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Role: Program Coordinator
Specialty: Agricultural / Environmental Engineering / Precision Livestock Farming
Daniel Berckmans
Adjunct Distinguished Professor | Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Blair Downey
Assistant Professor | Animal Science
Specialty: Animal Behavior and Welfare
Liz Eckelkamp
Associate Professor | Animal Science
Specialty: Dairy systems management
Facilities
Precision Technology
Dairy cow health
J. Lannett Edwards
Professor | Animal Science
Specialty: Animal Scientist: Reproductive Physiology/Embryology
Hao Gan
Associate Professor | Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Specialty: Precision Agriculture
Shawn Hawkins
Professor | Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Specialty: Animal Waste Management
Jennie Ivey
Associate Professor | Animal Science
Specialty: Equine nutrition and exercise physiology
Katie Mason
Assistant Professor | Animal Science
Specialty: Beef Cattle Nutrition Management
Renata Nave Oakes
Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Forage Management and Systems
Bruno C. Pedreira
Associate Professor & Director | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Forage-Livestock Systems
Justin Rhinehart
Dean and Professor | Extension Administration
Specialty: UT Extension
Troy Rowan
Assistant Professor-Beef Cattle Genomics | Animal Science
Specialty: Beef Cattle Genomics
Robert Spajic
Adjunct Professor – Friend | Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Meg Staton
Professor | Entomology and Plant Pathology
Specialty: Bioinformatics & Computational Genomics
Virginia Roseanna Sykes
Associate Professor | Plant Sciences
Specialty: Agroecology, Variety Testing
Yanqiu Yang
Assistant Professor | Animal Science
Specialty: Precision Beef Systems & Sustainability
Other Staff
Wes Gilliam
Research Specialist III | Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center at Spring Hill
John Walter Hitch
Research Center Director | Plateau AgResearch and Education Center
Supun Chathuranga Nabadawa Hewage
Precision Livestock Researcher 1 | Animal Science
Ethan Trent Parker
Research Center Director | East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center
Research Associates
Graduate Students
Ahmad Amirivojdan
Grad Research Assistant | Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
Mary Annalyse Leach
Laboratory Technologist 2, Endocrinology | Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences Department
Jayme Ozburn
Grad Research Assistant | Animal Science
Specialty: Dairy Judging Team Coach
