Samuel Wright Bodman III (born November 26, 1938 – September 7, 2018) was an American businessman, engineer, and politician who served as the 11th

United States secretary of energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession, presidential line of succession. The po ...

during the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

administration, from 2005 to 2009. He was also, at different times, the

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury The deputy secretary of the treasury of the United States advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succ ...

and the Deputy Secretary of Commerce. In December 2004, Bodman was nominated to replace

Spencer Abraham Edward Spencer Abraham (born June 12, 1952) is an American attorney, author, and politician who served as the 10th United States secretary of energy from 2001 to 2005, under President George W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, he previousl ...

as the Energy Secretary and was confirmed unanimously by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on January 31, 2005. During his tenure, he oversaw the security problems at

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

and a budget in excess of $23 billion and over 100,000 federal and contractor employees.

Early life and education

Bodman was born on November 26, 1938, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, the son of Lina (Lindsay) and Samuel Wright Bodman. Bodman spent his early years in the Chicago suburbs before he graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He was a member of

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Founded in 1845 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, it is the tenth oldest social fraternity in the United Sta ...

fraternity and the Sphinx Head Society. In 1965, he completed his

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

Career

Bodman served as an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and began his work in the financial sector as Technical Director of the American Research and Development Corporation, a

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

firm. From there, Bodman went to Fidelity Venture Associates, a division of the

Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), owned by FMR LLC and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, provides financial services. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the ...

. In 1983 he was named President and

Chief Operating Officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

and a Director of the Fidelity Group of Mutual Funds. In 1987, he joined

Cabot Corporation Cabot Corporation is an American specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company operates in over 20 countries with 36 manufacturing plants, eight research and development facilities and ...

, a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based Fortune 300 company with global business activities in

specialty chemicals Specialty chemicals (also called specialties or effect chemicals) are particular chemical products that provide a wide variety of effects on which many other industry sectors rely. Some of the categories of speciality chemicals are adhesives, agr ...

and materials, where he served as Chairman,

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, and a Director. Bodman was a past director of M.I.T.'s School of Engineering Practice and a onetime member of the M.I.T. Commission on Education. He also was as a member of the Executive and Investment Committees at M.I.T., a member of the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other F ...

, and a Trustee of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the

New England Aquarium The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include Harbor seal, harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African penguin, African and southern rockhopper penguins, gia ...

. He was also a past director of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

Bush Administration

Bodman served as

in the

Administration beginning in February 2004. He also served the Bush Administration as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce beginning in 2001. On December 10, 2004, Bodman was nominated to replace

as the

United States Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the United States presidential line of succession, presidential line of succession. The po ...

and was confirmed unanimously by the

on January 31, 2005, taking office the next day. He led the Department of Energy with a budget in excess of $23 billion and over 100,000 federal and contractor employees. In February 2007, Bodman testified before the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces about security problems at

. He stated that "The heart of the problem is a cultural issue at Los Alamos". He asserted that the impediment to improved security was "Arrogance. Arrogance of the chemists and physicists and engineers who work at Los Alamos and think they’re above it all"."Bodman Blames Scientists For Problems at Los Alamos", Jon Fox, Global Security Newswire, Feb. 2007.

Personal life

Bodman married M. Diane (Petrella) Barber in 1997. He had three children, two stepchildren, and eight grandchildren. Bodman died in El Paso on September 7, 2018, at the age of 79. The cause of death was reported to be complications from

primary progressive aphasia In neurology, primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a type of neurological syndrome in which language capabilities slowly and progressively become impaired. As with other types of aphasia, the symptoms that accompany PPA depend on what parts of ...

. His death was announced by former president George W. Bush on the same day.Former Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman Dies
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Notes

External links

General

Samuel Bodman's political donations

Articles by Samuel Bodman

World Energy Magazine - Meeting the Need for Affordable and Reliable Electricity

World Energy Magazine - The New Energy Bill: Fueling America's Energy Security

World Energy Magazine - The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: A Roadmap to Energy Security

World Energy Magazine - Mutual Needs Fuel Cooperative Efforts Between the United States and Africa
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodman, Samuel 1938 births 2018 deaths 21st-century United States government officials American chemical engineers American chief executives of materials companies American chief operating officers Businesspeople from Chicago Cornell University College of Engineering alumni DuPont people George W. Bush administration cabinet members Illinois Republicans MIT School of Engineering alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Deaths from dementia in Texas Deaths from primary progressive aphasia Politicians from Chicago United States deputy secretaries of commerce United States deputy secretaries of the treasury United States secretaries of energy Writers from Chicago