GEM Receives $11 Million Grant from the Simons Foundation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - April 20, 2022 - PRLog -- The Simons Foundation has awarded the National GEM Consortium $11 million to support 500 of the best and brightest underrepresented researchers to pursue PhDs in STEM fields, including Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics.

With the support of the Simons Foundation, GEM will fully sponsor the academic work of 100 fellows every year over the next five years leading up to the organization's 50th anniversary.  Fellows supported by the grant will not only receive financial sponsorship but will have access to internship opportunities with one of the GEM consortium's over 70 industry members, in an effort to provide practical and career experience to shorten the time between academia and the workplace.

"What the Simons Foundation has done is nothing short of phenomenal.  Both GEM and the Simons Foundation are committed to scientific impact.  While their focus is on advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences, they understand that there are populations that are underrepresented in this process and that by welcoming these groups, we are bringing ourselves closer to making significant advances," said GEM CEO, Brennon Marcano.  "Simons' support represents close to a 20% increase in the number of fellows that we can support on a yearly basis.  That is a significant number, and we thank them for sharing our vision," he added.

While there has been progress related to diversity in STEM, the demographics of the US STEM workforce still point to imbalance as compared to population statistics.  Black or African Americans represent about 9% of the STEM workforce, which is nearly 5% below their population percentage.  Hispanic Americans represent about 7% of the workforce, less than half of their population representation, and American Indian and Alaska Natives are both at about a quarter of their population representation.

"The Simons Foundation is really proud to partner with a group like GEM, with such a stellar record of increasing underrepresented groups in STEM master's and doctoral programs," said David Spergel, the Simons Foundation's president.  "This program will enable the training of the next generation of scientific leaders.  I look forward to seeing the novel scientific insights in the coming years.  These students are an important part of the future of US science".

The grant will run from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026.

About The National GEM Consortium
The vision of the National GEM Consortium is scientific impact, that vision is supported by its mission which is to enhance the value of the nation's human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians and Hispanic Americans) at the master's and doctoral levels in engineering and science. We are a unique and powerful connection to a national network of universities and employers. This partnership promotes the participation of underrepresented groups in post-graduate STEM education and the technical workforce. The employees shaping our nation's ability to remain a global leader in innovation and economic prosperity must fully utilize the talents of all Americans and reflect the country's changing demographics.  Visit us at https://www.gemfellowship.org.