We have a bonus interview today with MIT coxswain Sophie Thompson. We discuss many topics; coxing at MIT, racing at HOCR, using natural fibers as part of prosthetic socket replacement in Africa, and more.

row2k - How did you get your start in rowing?

Sophie Thompson - Growing up, my parents put an emphasis on staying active and busy. I played many different sports, including soccer, softball, and fencing, but swimming was always my favorite. Something about the water always fascinated me. I was lucky enough to go to a public school that had a rowing team, which I joined in the spring of 2018 as an eighth grader. After taking a couple of beginner classes, I fell in love with the sport. The water, the spatial thinking, the teamwork: it just all clicked for me. During my first couple of seasons on the team, I primarily rowed, and eventually switched to coxing in high school. I really appreciated the platform that coxing gave me to practice communication and leadership skills, which led me to pursue it in college.

Pulling into the start at the Knecht Cup

row2k - How did you decide to attend MIT?

Sophie Thompson - I have always been fascinated by numbers since I was a child. In high school, I took several chemistry classes which I really enjoyed. The application of math to real world situations enticed me and led me down the route of potentially majoring in Chemical Engineering. At the same time, I was interested in pursuing rowing in college, and I wanted to be in an environment that balanced sports with academics. After speaking with my high school rowing coach, Holly Hatton, she suggested that I reach out to the lightweight women’s team at MIT.

I was able to go on an official visit to MIT to meet the team, which really cemented my interest in the school. Everyone I met on the visit was so kind to me, with my host even staying up much later to answer all of my questions about the college. I was struck by how MIT fostered such collaboration in an otherwise intense environment. I distinctly remember my host joking that the problem sets were so hard to force students to work with each other. Ultimately, the camaraderie I saw in the team and the school led me to apply to MIT.

Working in the Biomechatronics Lab

row2k - You’ve done research on banana fibers, can you tell us about it?

Sophie Thompson - Since my first year at MIT, I have worked in conjunction with the Biomechatronics Group in the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics under the direction of Professor Hugh Herr on the natural fiber prosthetic socket project. My project is a part of a larger project in the lab to bolster the orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) healthcare systems in the West African country of Sierra Leone and to make the country’s healthcare system more resilient and less reliant on outside aid.

The prosthetic socket serves as the interface between the residual and prosthetic limb, where performance is the most critical component of the device. Sockets are typically made from carbon-fiber mesh, supported by acrylic resins. However, acquiring materials to fabricate carbon-fiber sockets–the gold standard of care– is logistically difficult and prohibitively expensive in locations like Sierra Leone, West Africa. Therefore, the natural fiber prosthetic socket project seeks to use locally-resourced materials in the country to provide a natural fiber alternative to carbon fiber. Banana fiber was chosen due to the relative abundance of banana plants in Sierra Leone and strength of banana fiber in comparison to other types of plant-based fibers.

In the past two years, the project has come so incredibly far. I started out the project by researching the basics of natural fiber and its possible applications in Sierra Leone. Now, the team is in the process of implementing parts of the project onsite in the country. I have had the pleasure of working with many members of the MIT team and collaborators in Sierra Leone throughout this project, and I look forward to seeing the research come to fruition.

row2k - What are some of your other interests away from the boathouse?

Sophie Thompson - Outside of rowing, I enjoy being involved in campus groups. My largest time commitment is my research position with the Biomechatronics Group, where I can frequently be found experimenting on banana fibers in the lab. Since my freshman year, I have been involved with TEDxMIT, which is a student coalition that organizes speaker series events featuring MIT students, postdocs, and professors who present their work to the public. I am also a board member of the MIT Career Advising and Professional Development (CAPD) Advisory Board, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority.

row2k - What has been your most memorable race and why?

Sophie Thompson - One of my most memorable races was coxing the LW4+ at Head of the Charles in 2022. I had raced at HOCR in high school, but this was my first collegiate race with MIT. One moment specifically stood out to me from that race.

As my boat rounded the bend of the Elliot turn, we closely followed two boats in front of us. While approaching the bridge it became clear not all three boats could go through at the same time. In the course of several seconds, I had to quickly make a decision. I switched the bow of the boat so it was sandwiched in between the two sterns of the other boats, allowing us extra room as all three boats made a final turn through the bridge and towards the finish line. As we emerged on the other side of the bridge, the river widened to allow for more maneuverability between boats.

I look back on this moment at how far both myself and the team have come. Like the race, over the past three years, there have been many moments of high intensity, but we have always emerged together.

Racing for MIT

row2k - How would you describe the role of coxswain within your team?

Sophie Thompson - As a coxswain, I have served many roles. I help with safe navigation, communication, crew management, and providing motivation and support to the athletes on my team.

My first priority during each practice and race is safety. That role takes several forms from safe steering to responding to unexpected events on and off the water. I also see the role of a coxswain as being one of having an adaptable mindset. One of my favorite components of coxing for MIT has been that it constantly challenges me to think differently. The plethora of bridges, boats, and changing weather conditions on the river adds an extra layer of variability to each practice. My teammates challenge me to push my communication skills, to be more precise with my language, to have more intonation in my voice, and to practice new types of calls.

row2k - What are you studying at MIT and do you have any other plans for after graduation?

Sophie Thompson - I am currently a junior studying Chemical Engineering and minoring in Political Science. I am interested in the intersection of engineering, patient-centered design, and material science. After graduation, I hope to pursue graduate school in Biomedical Engineering.