Outstanding Engineering Scholar Joins GE Aerospace Program
After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, Madelyn Torrans is headed to GE Aerospace's Edison Engineering Development Program. Her university experience included research, student leadership and efforts to improve engineering accessibility.
Four years ago, a lifelong fascination with flight led Madelyn Torrans to pursue an engineering degree at Cedarville University. She will relocate to GE Aerospace’s Edison Engineering Development Program in Evendale, Ohio, on July 20, where she will begin her career in aerospace engineering.
Torrans, a 2026 Cedarville graduate from West Chester, Ohio, discovered a passion for designing, testing and refining engineering solutions while serving on her high school’s model rocketry team. Her interest in design led her to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, enabling her to combine analytical thinking with opportunities to study the world around her.
For Torrans, engineering offers more than a career path — it allows her to learn about creation and use her findings to help others.
“Studying engineering causes me to marvel at how God’s creation is so orderly and well-designed,” said Torrans. “Engineering excites me because it offers an opportunity to study the laws and theorems that model the way the world works and then apply that knowledge to build new things and steward God’s creation.”
Engineering Student Combines Faith and Innovation
As her love for engineering grew, so did her desire to help other aspiring engineers develop enthusiasm for their studies and perseverance through challenges.
Torrans, an Ohio Space Grant Scholar, worked to remove barriers for blind and low-vision students pursuing engineering education. To increase accessibility, she worked with professors to create tactile drawings and models that effectively communicate engineering concepts to blind and low-vision students.
“I’m passionate about studying engineering, so I want to do what I can to help others who share this passion,” said Torrans. “Studying engineering is already difficult, so I believe we should remove any unnecessary barriers to learning so that those with a passion for engineering can succeed.”
Accessibility Efforts Support Blind and Low-Vision Engineering Students
Torrans also served as vice president of the Society of Women Engineers, providing younger students with the support and mentorship that she found as an underclassman.
“During my time on the board, I came to appreciate the power of community,” said Torrans. “Engineering requires a lot of studying, so it was easy to get caught up in my studies and feel like I didn’t have time for social activities. But through the Society of Women Engineers, I developed deep friendships with people who had similar interests and were just as busy as I was.”
Society of Women Engineers Leadership Builds Community
She worked on a research project involving fluid mechanics, developing code to predict fluid velocity at any point in a highly sheared turbulent flow field. These velocity predictions are useful in applications involving highly sheared turbulent flow, such as jet engine exhaust and mixing fluids. She has presented her research in two professional conferences and is working towards publishing it in a scientific journal.
Mechanical Engineering Research Advances Fluid Mechanics Applications
Torrans credits much of her success to the support of her professors, both in the classroom and beyond.
“The professors care about us not just as students but as Christians, and I’ve been blessed by their desire to share godly advice and to pray with and for me,” said Torrans. “It’s evident that their desire is to build us up as engineers and as Christians, and that’s what sets Cedarville apart.”
At graduation, Torrans was recognized as an Outstanding Scholar in Mechanical Engineering. As an incoming Edison Engineer at GE Aerospace, Torrans hopes to continue to use engineering to design solutions and serve others through innovation.
About Cedarville University
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.