Sybil Gotsch 2026 Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year
Dr. Sybil Gotsch is an Associate Professor of Forest Ecophysiology at the University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Gotsch attended the School for Field Studies in Queensland Australia, where she studied Rainforest Ecology. She then moved to America, where she received a Bachelor's in Biological Sciences at ount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. In 2006 she received a PhD in Ecology and Evolution, from Stony Brook University in New York. Since then, Gotsch moved to Lexington, where she teaches and conducts research in Forest Ecophysiology.
“Gotsch has fostered a creative, hardworking, and inquisitive environment in the Forest Ecophysiology Laboratory, and has built a welcoming and inclusive research team!” recalled Anna Ackerman, one of her mentees. “She is so supportive of her students and has challenged and mentored me through two research posters, and countless poster presentations as an undergraduate student. She sees potential in everyone and pushes you to learn and be involved in the process of research, from the conception of a project to the data analysis and presentation of results.”
“Dr. Gotsch has been both a mentor and like family to me and has provided me with every single opportunity imaginable in the forestry department.” said Anna Ackerman. “She has pushed me to write an Honors Thesis literature review, thesis report, and create a complete poster to present with grant funding I was able to secure thanks to her guidance. She has been the entire reason I have been accepted to graduate school at the University of British Columbia, because she has given me a million opportunities to prove myself as an undergraduate student in the research and forestry field. She has shaped my love for research, and I am so grateful for her commitment to supporting students!”
Thank you, Sybil Gotsch, for your continued support of undergraduate research at the University of Kentucky. We are pleased to recognize your commitment and dedication as one of the 2026 Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentors of the Year.
Learn more about Dr, Gotsch and her research: