UC co-op student helps develop next generation of commercial airliners

“She’s been very supportive through it all. She has the mindset that if you’re going to do it, do it,” said Korman, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.

“And that went for everything, even hobbies. When I got into 3D printing, she bought me a 3D printer. When I wanted to try embroidery, she bought me a sewing machine,” Korman said. “She was always encouraging me to go out and do what I wanted without fear of what I couldn’t yet do. And that support pushed me at UC.”

Emma’s mom, Brandy Yust, said she is very proud of her daughter. She always wanted her children to take big swings in life. The worst that could happen is it doesn’t work out the way you hoped. But it could turn out even better than you imagined, she said.

“I’ve told them success comes in many forms and that I want them to love what they do and the rest will fall in place,” she said. “I hope she continues to take all the chances, risks and opportunities and learns something from each one. I will always be right there cheering her on!”

Korman is a first-generation college student. Her older brother, Donny Korman, graduated from UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business. Now they’re both role models for their younger brother.

Korman received UC’s Darwin T. Turner scholarship, named for the historian who at 16 became the university’s youngest graduate in 1947. She came to UC to take advantage of its cooperative education program, which helps students graduate with up to 1.5 years of paid work experience, strong job outcomes and co-op earnings that help offset the cost of a degree.

“A part-time job in college was a battle for me because of the workload and time commitment in engineering,” she said. “Co-op provided a relief. I was able to save up money during co-op and use that during the semester so I didn’t have to work and could focus on school.”

Korman was introduced to GE Aerospace when she applied to UC’s undergraduate research program, which works with partner companies who do research and development and provides a co-op equivalent.

“GE happened to be one of those companies, and they had a research position open,” Korman said. “I was able to network within the company and realized there was a world of opportunity there.”

Korman ended up getting a second co-op offer from GE Aerospace, testing combustor components for aircraft engines — and then a third in mechanical design for next-generation products working on engine fan blades.

Then GE Aerospace offered her a co-op job in military engine controls and she found her passion.

“I really love control systems and software,” she said.

She stayed in that role for her final co-op on the commercial controls team, where she worked with Boeing Corp. on its new 777-9X, the longest twin-engine commercial aircraft in the world at 252 feet. The plane would barely fit in UC’s Nippert Stadium.

“I was sent to Seattle to support Boeing as a controls engineer,” Korman said.

“It was an amazing experience. I got to live in a new city for the summer and be on the aircraft at Boeing Field, which is an active airport,” she said. “We needed really hot conditions so we ended up going to Hawaii for a week for testing. I got to fly on a test flight.”