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Letter from the PRESIDENT
Dear GEM Colleagues,
We are pleased to release the 2021 Annual Report for the National GEM Consortium. Over the last year, we have continued to grow at an accelerated rate in both the number of sponsored fellows and organizations that support the vision and mission of GEM. This is particularly significant given on-going COVID-19 related challenges, and it reflects the hard work and contributions of every member of the GEM community, from corporations and universities to fellows and alums.
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Connecting underrepresented individuals pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering with opportunities in industry is an extraordinary mission. For science and technology industries, the need to attract and retain top talent is vital to long term competitiveness. GEM is uniquely positioned to create strong pathways to meaningful careers while simultaneously contributing to greater innovation through a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
Having completed my first year as Chair of the GEM Board of Directors, I am honored to be part of a movement that both Lam Research and I firmly believe in and support. It has been a pleasure to meet so many individuals from across the GEM community, and I look forward to continuing the positive momentum and expanding the impact in the years to come.
TIM ARCHER CHAIR, GEM BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT AND CEO, LAM RESEARCH
Letter from the CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Dear GEM Stakeholder,
While the current climate still accounts for a global pandemic, one would be hard pressed to see its impact within the consortium and that is because of all the hard work that we have collectively put into making this organization achieve its fullest potential. Stretch goals are quickly becoming just goals, dreams are becoming reality and the once viewed impossible goal of supporting 1000 GEM fellows every year, is starting to look very attainable. The pandemic worked like an earthquake, it destroyed many businesses when it first hit but then the aftershocks slowly whittled away many others. For GEM though, the pandemic was a wakeup call that forced the organization to become even more aggressive to avoid being dragged down by economic aftershocks. The result of that aggression is a report that we have enjoyed our most successful year to date and are proud to say that we have hit and significantly outperformed all of our major goals.
Our two primary goals while still in our Aggregator (Growth) mode have been 20% growth in employer fellowship support i.e. employers sponsoring more students to pursue their Masters and PhDs in STEM fields and a 66% growth in the number of sponsoring corporations within the consortium, with the latter goal historically being the more elusive of the two. I am proud to say that this year we hit both of our goals. Against our 20% growth in employer fellowship goal, GEM accomplished 50% growth, our highest ever single year growth rate to date. Against our 66% growth in employer fellowships, we hit the nail on the head and came in at 66%. Think about that, we grew 50% in the number of students we support and 66% in our employer population. That is significant growth for any organization and a great start to the tenure of our chair Tim Archer who just completed his first year. Tim coupled with our new board members and consortium members have shown that they are up to the task to make GEM a best in class non-profit.
It has been said that “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. If that is the case then the future belongs to us, The National GEM Consortium. Thank you all for not just believing in the beauty of our dreams but waking up, and helping to make those dreams a reality. Let’s continue to dream together, let’s continue to grow together, let’s continue to see and achieve scientific impact.
We look forward to your continued support and participation.
An advanced degree in engineering or science can open doors to even more challenging and responsible careers— especially in the dynamic and sophisticated areas of high technology research. Every year a significant number of underrepresented minorities enter undergraduate engineering and science curricula; however, under-represented minorities represent less than five percent of the recipients of advanced degrees in engineering or science.
It is GEM’s belief that if highly qualified minority students were exposed to the benefits of a career in research and technology innovation, via presentations from individuals from their communities who have received a graduate engineering or science degree and are currently successful in their careers, and were given resources on how to apply to graduate school, more students would apply and successfully matriculate in graduate engineering and science programs.
GEM conducts two signature programs to promote the participation and successful graduation of underrepresented minorities at the graduate level in science and engineering. GEM’s signature undergraduate program, called GRAD
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Lab (Getting Ready for Advanced Degree Laboratory), inspires close to one thousand under-represented STEM undergraduates annually to pursue a graduate degree in engineering or science. The GRAD Lab is currently supported by The Intel Foundation.
GRAD Lab is GEM’s first programmatic offering for undergraduates! Launched at the 30th Anniversary Conference in June 2006 to outstanding participant reviews, GRAD Lab offers under-represented students exposure to the benefits of research and technology careers in a highly interactive one-day event.
GRAD Lab encourages young people of color to consider graduate engineering or science education and applying for the GEM fellowship. Focusing on the global importance of research and innovation, life-long career benefits, and real world role models the symposium will help each student envision his or her future as a technology leader, successfully apply for a GEM fellowship, and gain entry to a graduate program. GRAD Lab is GEM’s portable and scalable solution for developing diverse technical talent with advanced degrees.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the National GEM Consortium $3.5 million to develop a national diversity and inclusion infrastructure for the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) Program in September 2019.
GEM’s Inclusion in Innovation Initiative (i4), is a cooperative partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a national diversity and inclusion infrastructure for the Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) Program. This program supports academic researchers in launching successful tech startups through entrepreneurial training providing them with critical skills for translating their research discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace.
GEMpreneur Workshops, Voices From the Field Panels and PEP (Preparing for Entrepreneurial Pathways) Talks are a part of the i4 programmatic offerings for current GEM Fellows and Alumni. Launched in June 2020, these programs provide underrepresented graduate researchers exposure to entrepreneurial pathways, processes to commercialize their academic research, and access to the GEM network of Founders/Co-Founders who have translated their deep-tech graduate research into successful startup organizations.
GEM’s signature graduate program, FFP Symposium provides comprehensive programming to current graduate students to ensure successful completion of rigorous STEM graduate programs. The goal of the FFP Symposium is to provide graduate students with improved research and career competitiveness, tools and metrics for greater control in career planning, and to gain access to a powerful network of peers and mentors.
GEM Fellows by Program
GEM Fellows by Gender
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Gem 45th Annual Board Meeting And Conference
September 9-11, 2021 | JW Marriott Houston by Galleria | Houston, Texas
GEM convened its annual meeting, the 2021 GEM Board of Directors Meeting and National Conference on September 9-11, 2021 at the JW Marriott Houston by the Galleria in Houston, Texas. The conference was a 45th anniversary celebration of GEM’s achievements toward its mission to drive global innovation and competitive advantage in the United States STEM workforce. The workshops, seminars and sessions were related to educating and preparing engineering and scientific talent for leadership careers, particularly among historically underrepresented ethnic. It fulfilled its purpose, to engage GEM Representatives in mission-forward discussions and take action through voting on strategic items during the board meeting; while prospective and current graduate students attended workshops, participated in a
GEM Leadership Awards Gala & Opening Reception
The 2021 GEM Annual Board Meeting and Conference, a prestigious forum for stimulating debate on bold solutions to advance graduate education. The 2021 meeting provides a platform to raise nationwide awareness of the National GEM Consortium mission, vision, Partners, and Fellows while celebrating over 40 years of growth and impact on underrepresentation within the graduate STEM landscape.
technical presentation competition & poster session, engaged with graduate and post-doc programs during the Graduate Resource, Post-Doc and Employer Fair, and took advantage of networking opportunities with representatives during the opening pre-reception. A highlight of this year’s event was the GEM 2021 Leadership Awards Gala and Reception. honoring those GEM alumni, university and employer leaders and champions that have embodied GEM’s forty-five years of achievement toward GEM’s mission or making a scientific impact. This 2021 national conference attendance doubled in size from previous years.
Friday Morning Plenary
The Friday breakfast plenary session was comprised of a panel of 3M’s Executive leadership team and was moderated by GEM’s Chief Executive Officer, Brennon Marcano. At this opening plenary, a 9-minute video tribute showcased GEM and its history of excellence throughout the past 45 years.
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Friday Lunch Plenary
The Friday lunch plenary session featured a panel of space experts from The Aerospace Corporation and NASA and was moderated by the amazing Lesia L. Crumpton-Young, President of Texas Southern University and GEM Alum. Panelists reviewed movie clips of sci-fi scenes and opined on what was fiction, reality and close to reality.
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Student-Focused Programming
Session: “Why Gradate School”
This session is designed to break some of the common myths about pursuing an advanced degree and set undergraduates STEM students on course of achieving their fullest potential.
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Session: “FFP: Navigating Graduate School-Managing Your Time and Staying Motivated to the Finish Line!”
• “The Big “D”: How to Write Your Dissertation and Live to Tell About It”
• “How to Succeed in Graduate School: Understanding the Graduate School Lingo”
• “Composing Your Graduate School Life”
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Session: “Engaging in Entrepreneurial Pathways”
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Session: “i4 to I-Corps Pathway”
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Session: “Why Entrepreneurship? And Voices From the Field Panel”
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GEM Alumni Association Reunion and Networking Party
GEM 45th Anniversary Salute and Alumni Networking Party was held at the House of Blues. The opening GEM Alumni session was an amazing opportunity for members of the GEM Alumni Association, GEM Fellows and other conference participants to network with each other, and our sponsor representative. Participants also got to learn about Amazon’s current partnership with GEM and new and exciting plans to come.
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A GEM nascent and current founders engaged in the social and peer-to-peer advisory aspects toward developing a robust GEM entrepreneurial network, while helping GEM researchers understand what are the barriers and challenges as well as the successes associated with your current/future venture.
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2021 Graduate Resource, Post Doc and Employer Fair
GEM hosted a graduate resource, post doc and employer fair that allowed undergraduate and graduate attendees to interact with University and Employer representatives in attendance on postdoc and graduate opportunities.
Sponsored by:
Technical Presentation Competition
Sponsored by National Renewable Energy Laboratory:
The 2021 GEM Technical Presentation Competition was initially developed to showcase the technical and research assignments of prospective and current GEM Fellows during their summer internship/summer research experiences and has been expanded for all students to showcase their skills in technical writing and presentations. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professionals, like all professionals, must possess a well-developed ability to communicate, both orally and in writing. This competition is designed to emphasize the value of an ability to conduct research, engage in a high level of technology and to deliver oral presentations. This year’s winners by category are:
2nd Year PhD and Beyond Level
1st Place
Terrell Glenn Electrical Engineering, Purdue University, Intel Corporation
Master’s and 1st Year PhD Level
1st Place
Joseph Schmidt Physics, University of TexasAustin, Oak Ridge Laboratory
The National GEM Consortium Poster Presentation
Sponsored by Lam Research
2nd Place
Nyesa Enakaya Chemistry, Howard University, Brookhaven National Laboratory
3rd Place
Collin Muniz Chemistry, University of Southern California, Lam Research Corporation
2nd Place
Promise AdebayoIge Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee –Knoxville, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
The poster was a hybrid between a research paper and an oral presentation. The primary purpose of a poster is to communicate what was done, what data was obtained, the researcher’s conclusions and recommendation for future research. A poster is more concise since the author is present to explain and elaborate on the research work.
3rd Place
Caira Anderson Applied Mathematics, Rice University, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Winner
Vanessa Awate Aerospace, University IllinoisUrbana Champaign, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
THANK YOU TO OUR 2021 CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Visionary Sponsor
Innovator Sponsors
Encourager Sponsors
Educator Sponsors
Supporter Sponsors
Gala Sponsors
