Plant Sciences Graduate Recipient of Prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
By AnnMarie Cornejo
When Sophia Forstmann crossed the stage in June to accept her diploma after earning a bachelor’s degree in plant sciences, she did so with a solid plan in place for where her academic journey will go next: pursuing a Ph.D. in Earth system sciences from Stanford University.
Forstmann is a 2024 recipient of the esteemed National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship – one of only two Cal Poly undergraduates to receive the award. The fellowship will pay for her next three years of graduate studies at Stanford, where she plans to continue her research of plant and soil relationships to soil carbon. The fellowship also includes a $30,000 annual stipend.
The highly competitive fellowship is awarded to students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in STEM-related disciplines such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Each year more than 16,000 applicants apply for the fellowship nationally, with less than 17 percent receiving the award.
To receive the fellowship, Forstmann had to propose a research project not only fills a scientific knowledge gap, but also has broader impacts on society. Ultimately, she hopes that her research involving understanding the impacts of grassland management on soil carbon will enable for better carbon modeling. With proper grassland management, large amounts of carbon can be sequestered and she hopes that it will not only help mitigate the effects of climate change, but also increase groundwater recharge, reduce erosion and increase species biodiversity within California’s grasslands.
I loved my time at Cal Poly and tried to do as much as I could. I consider myself lucky to have been a student here.— Sophia Forstmann
A New York City native, Forstmann’s journey into agriculture, although unconventional, began at a young age. She jokes that she is the black sheep of the family, with her parents working in the finance and fashion industries more typical of big city life. Forstmann spent her youth working at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture outside of the city. She worked with livestock, in the greenhouses and even taught some classes. “It was really influential on how I learned to think about agriculture and food systems – the experience I had there pushed me to continue those studies in college.”
While she originally intended to attend university in Edinburgh, Scotland, COVID-19 changed her plans. She was applying to colleges during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and living abroad no longer seemed feasible. Cal Poly was her first stateside choice. “I wanted to learn about agriculture and food systems from a different perspective than I had been exposed to on the East Coast,” Forstmann said.
Forstmann’s dedication to bridging ecology and agriculture to improve food and waste systems for the greater good of the people was solidified during her time at Cal Poly. “I loved my time at Cal Poly and tried to do as much as I could. I consider myself lucky to have been a student here,” she said.
She spent several years working on creating a Sustainability Plan for Swanton Pacific Ranch at Swanton Pacific Ranch to aid in the rebuilding of the ranch post fire, encompassing rangeland, forestry and ecology to build a comprehensive approach. The final report, more than 200 pages long, took two years to complete.
"Sophia brought her infectious passion and desire to make the world a better place to the Swanton Pacific Ranch Sustainability Framework Project,” said Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department Advisory council member Walter Ruzzo (Natural Resources Management, ’78). “Her ideas and insights in the framework will provide both valuable strategic and tactical guidance on sustainability for the ranch both now and well into the future."
That experience led her to a six-month sustainable land management internship at Swanton Pacific ranch where she lived and worked on the ranch. During this time, she conducted research working with Assistant Professor Yamina Pressler's Coastal Soil Horizons and Ecology Lab on varying land management practices impact on soil carbon. “The history of the ranch and the record of rangeland management makes it an ideal place to do research,” she said. “Not a lot of places have that history of record and we were able to study the impacts of historic land management practices. Soil has a much longer lifespan than we do, making it tricky to do research that mitigates impacts to climate.”
Pressler later served as a mentor as Forstmann navigated the graduate school application process and applied for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. “My research with Professor Pressler has shaped me as a scientist, student and a person,” she said.
Forstmann said the experience living at the ranch was also a pivotal one for her. “The only way to truly understand a system is living in it,” she said. “It helps to know what is reasonable to suggest when research indicates various management practices. Experiencing it firsthand gives a perspective of knowing what is actually viable.”
During the summer between her junior and senior year she joined the Sustainability Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering Program at Stanford University, where she led a field trial at the Stanford Educational Farm to understand the impacts of cover crops on reducing nitrogen loss through leaching and nitrous oxide emissions under the guidance of Stanford Professors Robert Jackson and Scott Fendorf. That relationship blossomed, leading her to seek a place in the doctoral program there. That dream was realized when she was notified she received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship one week prior to the graduate school commitment deadline.
The professors she worked with at Cal Poly have no doubts she will succeed. “I have experienced Sophia as a highly committed student with a lot of motivation not only to achieve her own academic goals, but also to support others in her working groups,” said Associate Professor Yiwen Chiu. “Being a professor, I feel well motivated by students like Sophia who made me feel rewarded in my work.”
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