An official with the FBI will speak about science, technology and security in the 21st century next week at West Virginia University.

Vahid Majidi, assistant director of the FBI s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate in Washington, D.C., will present a two-part talk in Clark Hall on WVU s Downtown Campus.

His first presentation,Science, Technology, and the 4th Amendment,will be Tuesday (March 11) in Room 208. The following day, Majidi will presentSafeguarding Against Unconventional Weaponsin Room 104. Both presentations will begin at 4:30 p.m. and are open to the public.

Majidi is the 48th lecturer to participate in the Friend E. Clark Lecture Series, sponsored by Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemistry Honorary and WVU s C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry.

The Clark Lecture Series is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students alike to be exposed to a professional at the top of his field,said Heidi Barron, president of the Tau Chapter of Phi Lambda Upsilon at WVU .The lectures this year will be especially engaging as they cover topics not traditionally discussed in chemistry courses.

Majidi came to the FBI from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he served as the Chemistry Division leader. The Chemistry Division is a premier scientific organization with extensive research capabilities essential to national security and civilian research programs. Its strategic programs include nuclear weapons-related research, non/counter-proliferation, homeland security, isotope science, applied energy, and nanoscale science and engineering.

In 2003, Majidi was appointed by the deputy attorney general to serve as the chief science adviser to the U.S. Department of Justice. He was responsible for coordinating science and technology policy among the departments component agencies and with state and local law enforcement entities. He served as the lead department representative for biosecurity, pathogen forensics, DNA technologies and biometrics programs and as the liaison to the scientific community.

Prior to his career at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Majidi was a tenured associate professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky. His research activities focused on analytical spectroscopy and gas-phase chemistry.

Majidi earned his bachelors degree in chemistry from Eastern Michigan University and his doctorate from Wayne State University. After his graduate work, he spent two years as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Texas, Austin.

Majidi has published numerous scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, and he has served on editorial boards for several international journalsThe Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate is responsible for coordinating and managing the FBI s equities, activities and investigations involving weapons of mass destruction. Specifically, it is charged with developing and executing an integrated approach to deny access to weapons of mass destruction materials and technologies, prevent attacks and respond to threats and incidents.

The Friend E. Clark Lecture Series was initiated in 1950.Past speakers include a number of Nobel laureates and prominent research scientists. The series brings an outstanding research scientist annually to campus for two days to share his or her research interests and accomplishments with the students and faculty at the University.