University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

People

World-Renowned Researchers

Across our college, we have some of the most respected researchers in the world working in our labs and teaching in our classrooms.


Peggy Ozias-Akins, a global leader in the application of biotechnology for crop improvement, has been named UGA’s recipient of the SEC Faculty Achievement Award. She is pictured in her greenhouse surrounded by Pennisetum (pearl millet) hybrid plants. CAES News
Peggy Ozias-Akins, a global leader in the application of biotechnology for crop improvement, has been named UGA’s recipient of the SEC Faculty Achievement Award. She is pictured in her greenhouse surrounded by Pennisetum (pearl millet) hybrid plants.
Ozias-Akins receives SEC Faculty Achievement Award
Peggy Ozias-Akins, D.W. Brooks Professor and Distinguished Research Professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has been named the University of Georgia’s recipient of the Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award.  
Robin Buell will join the University of Georgia in fall 2021 as its newest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (photo courtesy of MSU) CAES News
Robin Buell will join the University of Georgia in fall 2021 as its newest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (photo courtesy of MSU)
Plant genomicist Buell to join UGA as Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
Robin Buell, University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and a renowned plant genomics expert, will join the University of Georgia in fall 2021 as its newest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.
The winners of the 2020 D.W. Brooks Faculty Awards for Excellence are Bob Kemerait, Esther van der Knaap, Gregory Colson, Phillip Edwards and Tim Coolong. CAES News
The winners of the 2020 D.W. Brooks Faculty Awards for Excellence are Bob Kemerait, Esther van der Knaap, Gregory Colson, Phillip Edwards and Tim Coolong.
Julie Borlaug continues family mission to eradicate hunger and poverty
The elemental message communicated by Julie Borlaug during the 2020 D.W. Brooks Lecture on Nov. 10 was that no child should be born in a world with hunger and famine.
Huang's team will research cost-effective treatments to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, wastewater and biosolids to ensure safe water for drinking and agricultural application. CAES News
Huang's team will research cost-effective treatments to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, wastewater and biosolids to ensure safe water for drinking and agricultural application.
EPA awards UGA’s Huang nearly $1.6 million for pollutant research
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded nearly $1.6 million in research funding to University of Georgia’s Jack Huang to research cost-effective treatments to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, wastewater and biosolids to ensure safe water for drinking and agricultural application in rural areas. Huang, an associate professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences on the UGA Griffin campus, is one of only three researchers whose teams received funding from the EPA.
Wayne Parrott, a professor in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is one of the world's leading authorities on soybean genomics and enabling technologies for the improvement of crop plants. CAES News
Wayne Parrott, a professor in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is one of the world's leading authorities on soybean genomics and enabling technologies for the improvement of crop plants.
UGA plant breeder Wayne Parrott honored by American Seed Trade Association
Along with grant applications, administrative duties, publishing and hands-on research duties, scientists in agricultural research have the monumental job of disseminating vital information to stakeholders, policymakers and the general public.
The R. Harold Harrison Distinguished Professorship was established through the generosity of the Luther and Susie Harrison Foundation to strengthen the CAES Department of Poultry Science. Immunologist Rami Dalloul is the first faculty member to hold the newly established professorship. (contributed photo) CAES News
The R. Harold Harrison Distinguished Professorship was established through the generosity of the Luther and Susie Harrison Foundation to strengthen the CAES Department of Poultry Science. Immunologist Rami Dalloul is the first faculty member to hold the newly established professorship. (contributed photo)
Rami Dalloul named first R. Harold Harrison Distinguished Professor in Poultry Science
Poultry immunologist Rami Dalloul has been named the R. Harold Harrison Distinguished Professor in Poultry Science at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).
D.W. Brooks Award
Excellence in Research
Quinggou “Jack” Huang has built a career cleaning the water and soil of contaminants many people don’t want to think about. In the last decade, Huang has become one the world’s foremost experts on using enzymes to break down some of the most persistent contaminants in the modern environment — namely hormones and perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAs) — organic compounds that are used in fire retardants and nonstick surfaces.
D.W. Brooks Award
Excellence in Global Programs
In the U.S., Yen-Con Hung made headlines for developing the application of electrolyzed oxidizing water to reduce bacterial contamination and disinfect surfaces, a compelling contribution to the food service and food manufacturing industries. Globally, Hung has garnered an even greater reputation for international collaboration and outreach to food scientists in other countries.
Professor and Pioneer
Shaping the Learning Environment
Associate Professor Franklin West (Ph.D. – Animal and Dairy Science, ’08) takes a student-centered approach to teaching. Using his own path and principles as examples, West inspires students to challenge themselves.
Exceptional Teacher
Meigs Professor of Horticulture
Tim Smalley, who is known for teaching horticulture classes under the Meigs white oak tree, has revamped courses to engage students with learning experiences in and out of the classroom. His Art and Gardens of the Grand Tour study-abroad program has heightened students' horticultural and cultural appreciation since 2001.