ESP Biography



SOPHIE MORI, MIT undergraduate




Major: Computer Science & Linguistics

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: G

Picture of Sophie Mori

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I am interested in puzzles, books, origami, computer science, crosswords, and linguistics.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

X13762: Chocolate Truffles in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
Come learn how to make your very own chocolate truffles! We will learn some basic food science about chocolate and cream and then use our newfound knowledge to make some ganache truffles. Note that this class has TWO sessions. Please make sure you can attend both. Otherwise, you will not end up with truffles to take home. Also, bring a tupperware for your finished truffles.


A13765: Modular Origami in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
In modular origami, we fold many sheets of paper into modules (units) that have flaps and pockets. Then we can assemble them to create beautiful, colorful, complex three-dimensional structures!


C13913: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
We'll make fancy, stylish, delightfully clickable buttons with HTML and CSS for no reason except that we can. We'll learn about all sorts of CSS properties you can apply to buttons (and other things), old and new, mundane and bizarre, and see how major websites and CSS frameworks style their buttons.


X13972: Game Show! in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
Have you ever wanted to be on a game show? Here's your chance! Come prepared to collaborate and answer general knowledge questions.


W13535: Jewelry Workshop in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
Come by and make something nice for you, for your friend, for your mom, for your dad... Materials, tools, and assistance provided.


E13666: Airport Operations in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
Airports are complex places. Planes taking off and landing all the time, people moving from curb to luggage dropoff to security to gate to waiting area to plane. The busiest airports keep getting busier, and congestion and expansion become concerns. Come learn about airside and landside operations and what thoughts go into designing new airports! This is similar to last year's class, but there will also be new material and topics.


E13667: The Airline Industry in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
Everyone has their ideas on when to buy the cheapest tickets. But how does ticket pricing actually work? Come learn about airline markets, how airlines make money, the theory behind ticket pricing, and more!


A13669: Fancy Paper Structures in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
Turns out we can fold a flat sheet of paper into a cool, geometric, 3D form. Here is an example: https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/284234863.webp. The idea behind these types of compacting folds has made their way into telescopes, satellites, and architectural forms! I will have various templates available.


W12798: Prototyping Circuits in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Come learn basic breadboarding and how to incorporate digital logic into circuits, which is the foundation of how your computer works!


C12965: Introduction to Programming via Javascript Animation in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Learn programming basics by animating simple elements across a web screen. We will focus on experimenting and gaining an intuition for coding from examples rather than learning formal programming structures. Programming will be in Javascript, but some HTML/CSS will also be involved.


W13038: Jewelry Workshop in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Come drop by and make your own jewelry! Materials, tools, and assistance provided.


W13050: Live Action Angry Birds in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Ever wished phone games existed in real life? Come play Angry Birds with real life slingshots and plushies! High scorers will receive prizes.


S12960: Kitchen Chemistry in HSSP Spring 2019 (Feb. 23, 2019)
Chemistry is found everywhere, including in the food we eat every day. In this class, we will explore a different concept in chemistry each week and do food-related experiments to illustrate those principles. Results of the experiments can be consumed at the end. Potential topics will include ice cream, mayonnaise, butter, and chocolate.


W12355: Wooden Brainteasers in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Soma cubes, pentominoes, 3-D pentominoes, and more! Come try your hand at assembling squares, rectangles, prisms, and other geometric shapes.


E12366: The Design and Structure of Airports in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Have you ever wondered how airports are laid out and how all those complex systems that move around passengers, luggage, and aircraft work? Come learn about runway configurations, terminal design, and recent trends of airports and the flight industry around the world!


W12374: UX Prototyping: The ESP Website in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
ESP is giving its website a much needed revamp. Come test out our prototypes and offer feedback to contribute to the user experiences of the future!


X12504: Introduction to Puzzlehunts in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Do you like word games? Logic puzzles? Creative problem solving? Join us to learn about puzzlehunts, a fun style of puzzles and puzzle events blending all of these types and more, and try your hand at solving some puzzles!


C12754: Computational Linguistics in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
How can we use computation to study and learn more about language? What are practical problems we can solve with these approaches? We will learn about some basic probabilistic language models and briefly look at more complex problems being worked on today in the field of natural language processing.


W12759: Cardboard Box Forts in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Cardboard! Tape! All sorts of building materials! Revisit your childhood and come build the fort of your dreams. Come armed with creavity; we'll provide the (foam) weapons.


X12197: Make Your Own Butter in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
Come learn about the history of butter and the science behind how the making process works. Each student will also have the chance to make butter and customize it with various seasonings! We will have a tasting session at the end.


W12238: Soma Cube Puzzle in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
The Soma cube is a 7-piece puzzle. The pieces may be assembled into a 3x3x3 cube, and there are 240 distinct ways to do this! Come play with some handmade Soma cubes, and if you solve enough puzzles, you can even take a set home!


A12240: Fancy Paper Structures in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
Turns out we can score paper and fold a flat sheet of paper into a cool, geometric, 3D form. Here is an example: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51u4exQ8oTL._SY496_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg. Come make your own! I will have various templates available.


C12242: Introduction to Python Programming in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
What is programming? Where does one even start? We will go over basics in Python, a general-purpose programming language, and write a small game by the end of the class!


C12244: Introduction to HTML and CSS in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
The Internet has become so ubiquitous in our lives. Come learn about HTML and CSS, the languages that give our favorite websites structure and styling. We will learn how to make a simple website page and make it pretty.


X11674: Create Your Own Pentominoes in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
Come learn how to use vector editing software. We will solve a pentomino puzzle, a fun 12-piece tiling puzzle, and then design a template for printing then. I will laser cut your design for you, and you can come pick it up later and then you will have your own set of pentominoes to play with!


H11678: The 44 Sounds of English in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
Why does the 'e' in 'cases' receive an extra syllable when the 'e' in 'capes' does not? Do 'dogs' and 'cats' end with the same sound? Come learn about all the sounds in English, and then we will talk about how they work together.


W12004: Soma Cube Puzzle in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
The Soma cube is a 7-piece puzzle. The pieces may be assembled into a 3x3x3 cube, and there are 240 distinct ways to do this! Come play with some handmade Soma cubes, and if you solve enough puzzles, you can even take a set home!


W12014: Physical Puzzles! in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
Do you love those puzzles where you have two interlocked pieces and you need to figure out how to separate them, or the ones where you need to put together a collection of blocks? Whether it's twisting and sliding or pushing and pulling, come here to solve puzzles with us!


X10575: This Class is NOT a Puzzle in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
We shall puzzle over some of life's greatest mysteries


W10986: Origami! in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
Come fold cute animals and neat boxes! If you're more ambitious, tackle some modular origami. Fold lots of little units and fit them together to make a larger, more complex structure! Don't worry if you don't understand the weird diagrams in the books; help will be provided.


H10990: Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
Come learn about the sounds of the English language and how they work together to create the wonderful language this class will be taught in!


C10991: Search Algorithms: The Quest from Start to Goal in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
We won't quite figure out how Google Maps gives you optimal (and usually accurate) directions so quickly, but we will cover basic graph search algorithms and some more interesting ones that involve heuristics.


E11183: Topographic Maps in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
The U.S. Geological Survey produced several series of maps of the U.S. We will be looking at how to interpret the 7.5-minute, 1:24000 maps, of which there are nearly 57000. This class is heavily based on the Science Olympiad event Road Scholar.


A10474: Modular Origami in Spark 2016 (Mar. 12 - 13, 2016)
In modular origami, we fold many modules (units) that have flaps and pockets. Then we can assemble them to create beautiful, colorful, complex three-dimensional structures!


H10485: Introduction to Morphology in Spark 2016 (Mar. 12 - 13, 2016)
Come learn about morphemes, the smallest meaningful unit of language! We will see how these units combine to form words in various languages. If time allows, we will also solve some simple morphology problems!


B10013: Writing Systems of the World in Splash 2015 (Nov. 21 - 22, 2015)
As confusing as English spelling is, sometimes it DOES make sense. Come learn about all different types of orthography and how they try to capture a language's sounds on paper.


W10061: Knot Fun in Splash 2015 (Nov. 21 - 22, 2015)
This is going to be knot fun! If you don't have all your time tied up in classes, come to walk-ins and I'll show you the ropes of lots of knots.


S9552: How Computers Work in HSSP Summer 2015 (Jul. 12, 2015)
This class will explore a few concepts that are fundamental to the way computers work. We will be beginning with logic gates (extremely fundamental) which will likely have a hands-on component. Depending on time, interest and skill-level, we may also look briefly at other ideas like paging, Turing machines, threads, and assembly code. (We are not likely to get to all of these ideas, but we will likely get to some of them; suggestions welcome!)


W9331: SET and SET(tlers of Catan) in Spark 2015 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2015)
Still have free time after you've settled your classes? Come play Set (a pattern visualization card game) and Pro Set (pro version of set) with us! If you would prefer to settle your differences with strategy, we will also have Settlers of Catan. All set? Let's play!


B8745: The World's Most Famous Useless Language (AKA Esperanto 101) in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
Esperanto is an auxiliary language invented purely to be easy (also for world peace and stuff). Due to the language's ease and simple grammar, students will be able to hold basic conversations and express themselves using the world's most famous made-up language after minimal practice and a two hour class.