The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy (DOE) Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is proud to partner with The National GEM Consortium (GEM) to provide work experience to minority undergrad and graduate students within our various technology offices through the GEM Fellowship Program. EERE also supports additional GEM Fellows at several of DOE's national laboratories.
As an employer member, DOE helps GEM ensure student success in competitive academic and professional environments by providing a large network, financial support, and expert knowledge. The GEM Fellowship Program recruits highly qualified, underrepresented students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in applied science and engineering and matches their specific skills to the technical needs of GEM employer members.
To learn more and apply for the 2025 program, visit the GEM Fellowship Program website, and contact info@gemfellowship.org with any questions.
Meet the 2024 Class of GEM Fellows
J. Isaac Torres Marchand
Fellow for Wind Energy Technologies Office
Pursuing a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering at Colorado School of Mines
Hometown: Chihuahua, Mexico
Research Interest: Renewable energy
Cecilia Villegas
Second-year fellow for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office
Pursuing a Master of Science in environmental engineering at New York University
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Research Interests: Renewable energy, environmental science, and geographic information systems (GIS)
Stacy Godfreey-Igwe
Fellow for Building Technologies Office
Pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University
Hometown: Richardson, Texas
Research Interests: Energy justice, decarbonization, and sustainable design
Eric Cobos
Fellow for Building Technologies Office
Pursuing a Ph.D. in engineering at Carnegie Mellon University
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Research Interests: Internal combustion engines and radiative cooling technologies
Jon-Edward Stokes
Fellow for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office
Pursuing a Ph.D. in molecular engineering at University of Chicago
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Research interests: Condensed matter physics & quantum mechanics, heat and light management in energy conversion, and renewable energy systems
Fabiola Y. Rodríguez Rodríguez
Fellow for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office
Pursuing a Master of Science in environmental engineering at University of Florida
Hometown: Juncos, Puerto Rico
Research Interests: Environmental engineering, emerging chemical pollutants, environmental policy, and environmental sustainability
J. Etiosa Omeike
Fellow for Solar Energy Technologies Office
Pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science at Yale University
Hometown: Elmont, New York
Research interests: robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) safety, and AI alignment
Dawn Ford
Fellow for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office
Pursing a Ph.D. in materials science at The California Institute of Technology
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Research Interest: Materials for renewable energy generation and storage
Nazira Cisse
Fellow for Solar Energy Technologies Office
Recently completed Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering at Northeastern University
Hometown: New York (Bronx), New York
Research Interests: Energy, advocacy, water resources, and sustainable development
Karen Rodriguez
Fellow for Building Technologies Office
Pursuing a master's degree in quantitative finance t Rutgers University
Hometown: Cuba and Tampa, Florida
Research Interests: Applied mathematics, finance, and programming
Rachel Iweka
Fellow for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office
Pursuing Ph.D. in environmental geochemistry at Indiana University
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Research Interests: Soil geochemistry, environmental justice, and quantifying contaminates in urban environments for their role in disadvantaged communities and communities of color
GEM 2023 Fellows
Francisco Aguirre
Master of Engineering, University of California, Irvine
Fellow for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology Office
Hometown: San Jose, California
Research Interests: Semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy
Diana Alvarado
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Rice University
Fellow for Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Technologies Office
Hometown: Clovis, New Mexico
Research Interests: Energy and sustainability
Natalie Alvarado
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of California Berkeley
Fellow for Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Technologies Office
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Research Interest: Intersection of houselessness and transportation engineering
Amma Asamoah
Ph.D., Applied Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Fellow for Building Technologies Office
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Research Interests: Sustainable development in Africa
Javier Corona
Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Oregon State University
Fellow for Solar Energy Technologies Office
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Research Interests: Optical thermal characterization
Jorge I. Torres Marchand
M.S., Electrical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
Fellow for Wind Energy Technologies Office
Hometown: Chihuahua, Mexico
Research Interest: Renewable energy
Francisco Matos Ortiz
Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, North Carolina State University
Fellow for Solar Energy Technologies Office
Hometown: Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Research Interest: Grid-forming inverters
Edwin J. Lebrón Pérez
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Rice University
Fellow for Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office
Hometown: Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Research Interests: Soft matter research, particularly polymers
Kelsey Sinclair
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
Fellow for Bioenergy Technologies Office
Hometown: Naples, Florida
Research Interests: Medical device development, neural implants, and prosthetics
Faith Taylor
Ph.D., Environmental Science, Yale University
Fellow for Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Technologies Office
Hometown: Columbia, Maryland
Research Interests: Environmental justice, incarceration, veganism
Cecilia Villegas
M.S., Environmental Engineering, New York University
Fellow for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology Office
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Research Interest: Environmental engineering