Our Team


Interim Director – Data Science Institute for Machine Learning and AI

Timothy M. Young is Professor Emeritus in School of Natural Resources; and Interim Director of the Data Science Institute for Machine learning and AI at the University of Tennessee. He has Ph.D. in Statistics (focus on Machine Learning) and M.S. in Statistics (minor in Operations Research) from the University of Tennessee. He also holds M.S. and B.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He teaches highly successful industry courses in ‘‘Advanced Analytics, Modeling, and Machine Learning’, ‘Data Analytics and Variation Reduction’ and ‘Design of Experiments for Rapid Innovation’ to a large number of companies at national and international locations since 2000. He is an invited lecturer and adjunct professor at BOKU University, Vienna, and Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; and the Technical University of Munich Germany since 2010. Tim has extensive invited international speaking engagements and customized training courses for industry in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania, and Wales. He was a Fulbright Scholar and Fulbright Specialist (Statistics) in 2014|2016 in Austria.

Tim was awarded the University of Wisconsin CALS ‘Outstanding Alumni of the Year’ in 2018 and ‘Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science’ in 2019. He is current Head of the Industrial Engineering Unit and Director of the Center for AI and Data Science (CDS) of the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), Greece. Leadership experience includes past President of the Forest Products Society (FPS). Tim is an active member of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and American Society of Quality (ASQ).

Timothy Mark Young Profile Page
Timothy Mark Young
Advancement Officer, Institutional Advancement

Professor and Director – School of Natural Resources

Add write-up from Don here…

Donald G Hodges Profile Page
Donald G Hodges
Professor And Director, School of Natural Resources
Responsible Area(s)
Agriculture and Natural Resources

Thomas K. (Tom) Looney is Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development and has been with the University of Tennessee for more than 30 years. He holds a MS in Communications Management and a BS in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of Tennessee. He leads major gift development for the UT Institute of Agriculture, which includes the School of Natural Resources and the Data Science Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

Tom Looney Profile Page
Tom Looney
Asst. Vice Chancellor, Institutional Advancement

Kyle Hensley serves as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the UT Institute of Agriculture. He holds a bachelors degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee’s Herbert College of Agriculture and a Masters in Business Administration from UT’s Haslam College of Business.

Kyle Hensley Profile Page
Kyle Hensley
Director Of Corporation And Foundations, Institutional Advancement

Other Team Members:

Katie Donaldson Profile Page
Katie Donaldson
Communications Specialist II, School of Natural Resources