TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Joy Garnett, a junior majoring in chemical and biological engineering, has been awarded a Fellowship from The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Inc., otherwise known as the GEM Consortium.

Garnett was accepted for GEM’s Ph.D. Science Fellowship Program and will receive an approximate $14,000 scholarship per academic year.

A native of Eutaw, Garnett will be a summer research intern in Rochester, N.Y., at Eastman Kodak’s research laboratories. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She also works with Habitat for Humanity and the Cultural Language Exchange Program.

The National GEM Consortium funds fellowships consisting of graduate study at the master’s or doctoral level and advanced summer internships. GEM seeks to increase the number of American Indian, African-American, Latino, Puerto Rican and other Hispanic Americans pursuing graduate degrees in engineering, physical science and natural science disciplines. Fellows selected for GEM programs obtain practical work experience through summer internships at GEM employer worksites.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering has about 1,800 students and more than 95 faculty. It has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.