The College of Engineering is the new home of three of the nation’s 2003 GEM Fellows.

GEM are awarded competitively by the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Science and Engineering. The program provides opportunities for underrepresented minority students to obtain graduate degrees through financial assistance and paid summer internships, according to the GEM Web site, was.nd.edu/gem/gemwebapp/gem_00_000.htm.

The students are sponsored by Fortune 500 companies, government laboratories and universities.

Miguel Contreras of DePaul University, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, Oscar Murillo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduate student in aerospace engineering; and Enrique Silva of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, are Iowa State’s newest GEM fellows.

“They bring a different perspective [to Iowa State],” said Nancy Knight, director of engineering graduate programs. “They all come from different parts of the country.

“This diversity is very important to us.”

Knight described the program as a transportable fellowship in that once the 136 GEM fellows are selected, they are given the opportunity to choose from attending one of 86 participating universities.

She said Iowa State’s newest GEM fellows all visited the university before deciding to attend. They met with faculty and toured their departments and the City of Ames.

“Recruiting is really a relationship basis,” Knight said. “We worked hard to get [the GEM fellows] to come here.”

Silva is studying for his doctorate at Iowa State through his second GEM fellowship. He was previously a GEM fellow when studying for his master’s degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Silva has been sponsored by Ford Motor Company for the past three years and will eventually complete his third internship with the company.

“I get to work with a prestigious company for the summer and get real job experience,” Silva said. “Ford has been giving me great support. All in all, it’s been a great program.”

Silva said he chose to come to Iowa State because of its nationally high-ranked electrical engineering department.

“I’m from Puerto Rico and have lived for the past three years in New York, so coming to Iowa State was a big decision for me,” Silva said. “You never know what to expect, but right now, I am pretty happy with my decision.”

The GEM fellowship program is meant to increase recruitment, retention and graduation of minority students, according to the GEM Web site.

Knight said the College of Engineering has set a goal of awarding 8 percent of its doctoral degrees to minority students. The college is currently at 3 percent and programs like GEM are helping the college reach its goal, she said.