DuPont has announced that Cornell is a recipient of a $60,000 fellowship, renewable annually for five years. The fellowship will support two graduate students in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics. The recipients will be chosen by faculty members at Cornell.

The gift is one of five such awards to universities and is part of a total contribution of $1.5 million by DuPont -- through its Pioneer Hi-Bred seed business -- to support graduate student research and education in plant breeding through university fellowships.

DuPont also will provide universities with $675,000 to support a competitive fellowship program for students with a confirmed interest in plant breeding research. The company will provide 10 fellowships through 2009 to help meet the growing demand for plant breeders.

"Based on current trends, we will not have enough talent to meet the needs of this rapidly growing industry," said William S. Niebur, DuPont's vice president for crop genetics research and development. "We need to identify and support students who have the interest, abilities and passion necessary to become the next generation of plant breeders."