Steven Aird Named First Recipient of
NSU’s Dominion Virginia Power Faculty Research Initiative

Norfolk, Va.— Steven Aird, professor of chemistry at Norfolk State University, has been named the first recipient of the Dominion Virginia Power Faculty Research Initiative. 

The $25,000 research stipend is part of a $75,000 gift that Dominion Virginia Power awarded NSU’s School of Science and Technology to attract a top-notch scientist who is advancing the University’s biotechnology initiatives.

Aird will be instrumental in the establishment of NSU’s Center of Biotechnology. The remaining funds will be used to support the scholarly activities of two new science and technology faculty, most likely in engineering or computer science. 

Aird has made remarkable progress in all areas during his first semester at NSU. The award has enabled him to purchase a new computer and software to enhance the rate and quality of his efforts; post his lecture material, assignments and statistics into Blackboard, an online resource; and purchase reagents and equipment that have been pressed into heavy use in his renovated laboratory.

His investigation of various compounds also may have possible applications to the study of hypertension and balance disorders in humans, and the potential to be one of the most significant biochemical tools in the study of an important class of brain neurotramsmitter receptors. 

Aird is currently working on a grant proposal related to the Biotechnology Center effort that could bring $1.1 million in funding to Norfolk State. He also edits several manuscripts for publication and serves as a mentor to several students in his laboratory.

For more information, call the School of Science and Technology at 823-8181.

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