Four Cornell assistant professors have been awarded research grants by the Affinito-Stewart Grant Program.

The program, administered by the President's Council of Cornell Women (PCCW), aims to increase the long-term retention of women on the Cornell faculty by supporting the completion of research that is important in the tenure process.

For the 2006 awards, 14 proposals were reviewed and rated by 39 Cornell faculty members from across the university. Final funding decisions were made by PCCW members on the faculty at other universities. Criteria for the review process were scholarly merit, research design, feasibility and likely relevance to promotion to tenure.

The council awarded a total of $35,379 in project funding to the four recipients. They are:

• Rachel Bean, astronomy, $9,485 for her project, "Understanding Cosmic Acceleration: Observational Investigation of Matter- and Gravity-Based Theories."
• Siu Sylvia Lee, molecular biology and genetics, $10,545 for "Identification of Evolutionarily Conserved DAF-16 Target Genes."
• Devra C. Moehler, government, $10,581 for "Private Radio and Media Effects in Africa."
• Samantha Zacher, English, $4,768 for "Anglo-Saxon Homilies in Italian Manuscripts."

Grants between $1,000 and $12,500 are given by the program each year. More than $497,379 has been awarded to 155 women researchers at Cornell since 1992.

"PCCW takes great pleasure in the outcomes of the Affinito-Stewart awards in assisting tenure-track women," said Margaret Stack Turner '61, chair of the organization. "Benefits of the awards, as described by the recipients, have affirmed the foresight of PCCW founders Lilyan Affinito and Patricia Carry Stewart in establishing the endowment."

For more information on the grant program, e-mail pccw@cornell.edu or call (607) 254-7104.