EMILY KU
(Emi-lee Koo, she/her)
Brooke Owens Fellow, Class of 2021
Georgia Institute of Technology, Aerospace Engineering, ‘21
Host Institution: The Spaceship Company
Brookie Mentor: Rachel Thomas
Emily is a senior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She had her first exposure to aerospace through Aviation Club in high school, where she had the opportunity to fly a plane for the first time during a Young Eagles Flight program. Since then, she has been inspired by the aerospace dream to solve difficult problems, push humanity's limits, and make the impossible possible.
Since being admitted to Tech, she has participated in projects involving data modeling, structural analysis, active flow control research, flight planning, and satellite ground control communications. She found her home for two years in Design Build Fly, a competitive RC aircraft organization where students design and build aircraft fitting the competition year rules. In the fast-paced, competitive atmosphere, she gained experience in rapid prototyping, composite engineering, teamwork, as well as the important lesson of Murphy's Law (Anything that can go wrong...will go wrong...and at the worst possible moment). After her first semester, she became the DBF Micro Class Project Manager, assisting the team to First Place in the SAE Aerodesign East 2020 Competition, with a lightweight flying-wing aircraft that assembled in 20 seconds. Additionally, she designed the 7-foot long fuselage coupled with a composite, steerable nose gear for the 2021 Competition. This organization has really inspired her passion for building and hands-on activities, and taught her how fulfilling it is to design something and see it takeoff into the air.
She also served as the team lead for the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) 2020 Georgia Tech competition team, where she assisted her team in designing a 30-day surface stay, high scientific potential, robust Mars mission architecture. The team was awarded "Best in Theme" and "Second Place Overall" and she presented alongside her team members in the AIAA Ascend 2020 Conference. This experience gave her more exposure to space systems, systems architecture, and humanity's potential for deep space travel. Coupled with her Jet propulsion course where she learned more about propulsion and how that is a major roadblock to deep space travel, she intends to pursue propulsion projects in the future.
In addition to these two projects, Emily also is involved in the national Women of Aeronautics and Astronautics chapter, helping produce workshops and tutorials teaching various technical skills to the community. Growing up without that kind of exposure, she is passionate about giving young minorities these skills early on to build their enthusiasm for STEM fields.
Outside of school, Emily enjoys digital art, playing music, as well as baking (and eating!) desserts of all sorts.
As a Brooke Owens Fellow, Emily is very excited to be interning with The Spaceship Company and furthering her exposure to propulsion and space travel!