Katherina "Gil" Softcheck joined Smithers in 2002 as a laboratory technician in the Algae Lab and is now responsible for overseeing the conduct of freshwater and marine algal testing and maintenance of algae and aquatic plant cultures. She earned her B.S. in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Her research on "Marine Algal Sensitivity to Source and Weathered Oils” has been published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (ET&C).  Gil is an active member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), and she has participated in the North Atlantic Chapter of SETAC and the American Chemical Society (ACS). Her interests include fly fishing and spending time exploring the outdoors.