KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Sophia Batchelor
Sophia really likes science! And she quite enjoys building things too. As a graduating senior at UC Berkeley majoring in Psychology with Honors, as well as Interdisciplinary Studies within Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Bioethics, she's taking a creative approach to her research, by building Augmented and Virtual Reality tools to try to understand the "why" of "what" we are by looking at the brain and technology. You could say her ultimate research goal is to understand through a bioscience lens how we interpret and interact with the world.
Sophia is also a proud Kiwi (meaning she's originally from New Zealand), and purposely picks projects that she has no previous knowledge about because not only does she want to learn about them, but because they are challenging, and she finds challenges fun! In addition, she's currently the Vice President of Virtual Reality at Berkeley, the largest student led VR organization in the United States. Previously Sophia interned at CodeCombat and NewPathVR, and worked as a Research Assistant at both UC Berkeley and the University of Florida. She also enjoys a very active lifestyle, and was a 2012 Olympic Qualifier and served as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the New Zealand Institute of Sport. Her awards and other achievements in both athletics and academics are impressive, and include a 2012 Duckworth Trophy for Outstanding Accomplishment in Academic Pursuits and Athletic Performance. Above all, Sophia sees the youth of today as users, creators, and builders of the future, and thus only asks of them to try to build it brighter.
Register below now to engage with Sophia and find out how you can also prepare for exciting careers in Augmented/Virtual Reality, Neuroscience, and other fascinating STEM fields of the future!