Schilling named 51³Ō¹Ļās 2025 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner
Contact: Carl Smith
STARKVILLE, Miss.āWes Schillingāa William L. Giles Distinguished Professor in 51³Ō¹Ļās Department of Biochemistry, Nutrition and Health Promotionāis the universityās 2025 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner.
Schilling, who also serves as the director of the 51³Ō¹Ļ Food Science Innovation Hub, is one of 16 SEC faculty members to receive the prestigious annual award. Recipients are SEC professors recognized for their outstanding teaching accomplishments, research and service.
Schillingās research interests, which focus on adding value to and improving the quality and safety of food products, include meat and sensory sciences, flavor chemistry and ingredient technology. He is the recipient of numerous 51³Ō¹Ļ research awardsāthe Ralph E. Powe Award for 2018ās most outstanding researcher and 2022ās Outstanding Faculty Research Award and Superior Research Award, conferred by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, respectively. His other professional honors include the American Meat Science Associationās 2024 Distinguished Research Award.
āDr. Schilling is a gifted teacher and mentor, a distinguished scholar and a trailblazing scientist who is most deserving of this prestigious recognition. He is equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and experience they need to excel professionally after earning a degree from 51³Ō¹Ļ,ā said 51³Ō¹Ļ President Mark E. Keenum. āHis research has an incredible real-world impact and benefits all of us by solving tough agricultural challenges for producers, food companies and consumers.ā
Following a six-year stint as a research assistant and instructor/post doc at his alma mater Virginia Tech, Schilling joined 51³Ō¹Ļ in 2003 as an assistant professor. He rose through the ranks, achieving associate professor and full professor statuses in 2008 and 2014, respectively. In 2022, he was tapped as the interim head of 51³Ō¹Ļās Department of Poultry Sciences, leading the unit for almost a year.
Over his career, Schilling has received more than $10 million in research grants for various projects, developed key industry and governmental relationships, directly mentored more than 100 graduate students, and collaborated on more than 500 publications, from peer-reviewed journal articles to book chapters and abstracts.
Schilling earned bachelorās and masterās degrees in food science and technology, a masterās degree in statistics, and a Ph.D. in food science and technology, all from Virginia Tech, where he also was a member of the cross-country and track teams.
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