The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Kentucky is seeking qualified applicants for a MS assistantship available starting July 2026. The project will study the patterns and drivers of white oak’s growth and evaluate the role ecological forestry practices can play in sustaining white oak through promoting enhanced recruitment and reduced mortality. The research will leverage assessments of undisturbed stands and those subject to silvicultural practices such as thinning to understand how stand density, forest microclimates, and tree characteristics influence white oak growth and recruitment patterns. Tree-ring analysis will be used to help inform how past stand conditions influenced tree response. There will also be opportunities to explore mechanistic drivers of white oak’s growth through collaboration with Dr. Sybil Gotsch’s forest ecophysiology laboratory in the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.

This graduate assistantship will provide students with a detailed ecological understanding of the region’s oak dominated forests as well as experience in the study of forest growth, dendrochronology, ecophysiology, and silviculture.

Assistantship will include a stipend of $28,117, tuition, and health benefits. Interested students should contact Dr. John Lhotka (john.lhotka@uky.edu, 859-257-9701). Please visit the following website, https://forestry.mgcafe.uky.edu/masters-program, to obtain information on the application process.

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Sybil G. Gotsch, Associate Professor (she/her/hers)

PI-Forest Ecophysiology Lab

Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

College of Agriculture, Food and Environment | University of Kentucky

105 T.P. Cooper Building, 730 Rose Street

Lexington KY 40546-0073

T: 859-257-7596 | F: 859-323-1031 | E: sybil.gotsch@uky.edu

Websites: https://forestry.ca.uky.edu/; http:/www.sybilgotsch.com/

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