In the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Toni Wang, the Charles E. Wharton Institute Professor in the Department of Food Science, studies the fundamental chemistry of fats, proteins, and other biomaterials—and how to extract maximum value from them. Her work spans frozen foods, industrial waxes, renewable fuels, and biofertilizers. In her lab, fats, oils, proteins, carbohydrates, and gums are not just ingredients but biomaterials with untapped potential. The unifying theme of her work is value: extracting it, enhancing it, and ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
“Food science is often about much more than food,” Wang says. “It’s about chemistry—understanding structure, functionality, and how molecules interact in a food matrix or as biomaterials. We use that fundamental knowledge to add value to agricultural commodities and biomass, creating higher-value applications from what already exists.”
From fundamental chemistry to real-world impact
One of Wang’s projects, funded by the National Science Foundation, focuses on a problem familiar to anyone who has opened a carton of ice cream to reveal a grainy, iced-over texture known as ice crystal growth. As frozen foods sit in storage, small ice crystals merge into larger ones, rupturing cell structure and damaging texture and quality.
“People are constantly trying to find food-safe bio-based ingredients that can slow down ice crystal growth,” Wang explains. “If we can control that growth, we preserve quality.”
Her team studies food-derived protein hydrolysates—small peptides derived from food proteins—as natural agents that can slow ice crystal growth. By combining laboratory experiments with molecular dynamics simulations, they identified specific molecular structures that can disrupt ice crystal formation, helping maintain structural integrity. The combined experimental and computational approach has generated new tools that other scientists are now adopting.
The implications extend beyond ice cream. The findings could improve the freezing stability of high-moisture dairy products and enhance the preservation of biological samples during frozen storage.
Building better wax domestically
In another project, funded by the US Department of Agriculture, Wang is reexamining a material that many industries depend on: carnauba wax.
Imported primarily from Brazil, carnauba wax is valued for its high melting point, durability, and glossy finish, making it a staple in candy coatings, car polishes, and specialty finishes. But its geographically limited availability and price volatility create vulnerabilities for manufacturers.
Wang’s lab is exploring whether domestic seed oils such as soybean and canola oil can be chemically modified to mimic the performance of carnauba wax. By analyzing nanocrystallinity, microaggregation behavior, and structure–function relationships, her team aims to replace decades of trial-and-error formulation with predictive science.
If successful, the research could produce affordable adjustable wax alternatives derived from US agricultural feedstocks—strengthening domestic supply chains while expanding markets for American crops.
Turning waste into fuel, feed, and fertilizer
An ambitious projects centers on one of nature’s most efficient recyclers: black soldier fly larvae.
These insects can consume food waste, agricultural residues, and even certain contaminated materials—converting them into protein- and lipid-rich biomass. Wang is leading a multidisciplinary team to unlock the full value of what these larvae contain and leave behind.
“This is about closing the loop,” Wang says. “We’re converting organic wastes into valuable products and sending the residual materials back into the agricultural system.”
The process begins with a fundamental question: What is this biomass worth, and how do we extract its full potential?
Toni Wang
“If the larvae are rich in protein and lipid, can we extract the protein for food or animal feed?” she asks. “If byproducts are not suitable for feed, can we convert protein extraction residue into biofertilizers or the oil into sustainable aviation fuel?”
To explore these possibilities, Wang is collaborating with colleagues in the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science to study the oil’s potential for aviation fuel, while soil scientists across UT evaluate whether residual solids can serve as biofertilizers.
But careful biorefining isn’t just about efficiency — it’s also about safety. Because larvae can be raised on waste streams that may contain mycotoxins or heavy metals, Wang’s lab ensures contaminants are removed or redirected into safe uses. Oils unsuitable for feed can be used for other purposes, preserving value while protecting safety. The goal is to create a fully integrated circular system in which waste streams become valuable inputs and byproducts return nutrients to agricultural soils.
A mentor first
Although most of Wang’s appointment is focused on research, she speaks passionately about her students and teaching. She brings the latest research, technologies, and emerging trends into the classroom to strengthen students’ foundational knowledge and cultivate their curiosity.
Since beginning her faculty career, she has mentored almost 50 graduate students, guiding them through research and publications and into careers across academia and industry.
“As a university faculty member, the most important job is working with students—in the classroom and in the lab,” she says. “You see them grow. You see them gain confidence and skill. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Her lab trains students not only in advanced analytical techniques but also in how to ask meaningful questions that bridge chemistry, agriculture, sustainability, and industry needs.
A platform for possibility
When Wang came to UT in 2019, she was drawn to the collaborative culture and the opportunity to build new interdisciplinary partnerships. She credits institutional support, including startup funding for advanced instrumentation and internal grants that enabled early data collection, with helping accelerate her research trajectory.
“Seed grants are incredibly important,” she says. “They give you the foundation to gather preliminary data to then go on and pursue bigger ideas.”
At UTIA, she values both the infrastructure and the intellectual environment to pursue such big ideas—from ice crystal inhibition to sustainable aviation fuels. And she isn’t short on future directions. For every experiment completed, she says, “There are 10 to 20 new and exciting questions.”
For Wang, that’s the joy of the work—discovering how molecular structure shapes material behavior and how those discoveries can power a more resilient circular bioeconomy with more sustainable solutions.