Sophie is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the department of Mechanical Engineering. Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, she couldn't decide whether to study engineering or sculpture in college--so she did both. She completed her Undergraduate degree in 2022 from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S in Materials Science and Engineering and an additional major in art. Inspired by self-folding origami, she joined the Morphing Matter Lab under Prof. Lining Yao. There, she was captured by the world of soft robotics and hasn't stopped playing with responsive materials since. She started her PhD in the Mechanical Engineering Department at UCSB under Prof. Elliot Hawkes, but was longing to return to polymers and the wet lab. After learning about the photo-responsive materials being synthesized in the Read De Alaniz group, she decided to unite her loves of chemistry and robotics together by being co-advised by Javier Read De Alaniz and Elliot Hawkes. She enjoys making liquid crystal elastomers, consuming excess caffeine, making pottery, baking gluten free goodies, and hanging out with her cat.