Faculty in West Virginia Universitys Eberly College of Arts and Sciences will discuss topics ranging from proven ways to poison people to potential uses of building blocks too small to see as part of Homecoming activities.

The ninth annual Homecoming Lectures and Brunch will be Saturday, Nov. 6, at historic Woodburn Hall on WVU ’s downtown campus. This year’s theme,New Frontiers in Arts and Sciences,will consider a wide variety of challenges and opportunities.

It is always a privilege to share with our loyal alumni and friends the intellectual excitement that makes West Virginia University great,interim Dean Rudolph P. Almasy said.

This years lecturers:

• Suzanne Bell, research professor of forensic and analytical chemistry,Bacon, Eggs, and Arsenic: A History of Forensic Science.She will look at the history of arsenic as a murder weapon, including a recent case of a poisoned brunch.

• Daniel Borsay, lecturer in religious studies,�€~ The DaVinci CodeDecoded.He will explore why Dan Brown’s novel has struck both a responsive chord and a sensitive nerve in our society.

• Dorothy Dotson, vice president for investments of the WVU Foundation and 2004 recipient of the Eberly College Alumni Recognition Award,Investing in the Former Soviet Union: Russian Roulette or �€~Putinon the Profits?Dotson will delve into the macroeconomic realities of today’s Russia.

• Gregory Good, director of WVU ’s Cultural Resources Management Certification Program,Saving Our Past: Building Our Future.He will look at the ways in which West Virginias cultural heritage is the key to sustainable development and cultural identity.

• Thomas H. Myers, interim director of the WVU Nano Initiative,Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Large Expectations from the Very Small.Recent advances in nanotechnology seem to indicate this new field will significantly change everyday life. Myers will also discuss WVU ’s emerging efforts in this area.

Activities will begin with registration at 9 a.m. in the main corridor of Woodburn Hall, with the lectures to follow. A brunch will be served at 10:30, then participants will head off to Milan Puskar Stadium to cheer on the Mountaineers as they face the Temple Owls at 1 p.m. During halftime, David K. Hendrickson of Charleston, a 1979 Eberly College history graduate, will be honored as the 2004 Outstanding Alumnus by the WVU Alumni Association.

The lectures are free. For more information or to register, contact Brenda Riggle at 304-293-4611 or Brenda.Riggle@mail.wvu.edu .