January 2005

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WASHINGTON, DC - Somewhat unexpectedly, President Bush last month nominated Treasury Deputy Secretary Samuel Bodman to succeed Spencer Abraham as new Secretary of Energy for net Bush’s second term.

Bodman, 65, is a chemical engineer by training who earned his doctorate (ScD) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1965. He is a former associate professor of chemical engineering at MIT as well as a former president and CEO of Fidelity Investments. In 1987 he joined Cabot Corp., a Boston-based Fortune 300 company active in specialty chemicals and materials where he served as chairman, CEO and director.

Cabot is a member of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council via its Cabot Superior Micropowders division in Albuquerque, NM.

Bodman came to Washington in 2001 to become deputy secretary of commerce. In February, he moved to the Treasury Department where he worked on reorganizing the offices charged with stopping the flow of money to terrorists, according to a Dec. 11 “New York Times” story about his new appointment.

Bodman was apparently not on very many Washington radar screens as a possible choice for DoE secretary (H&FCL Fast Forward, Dec. 04). Calls to various individuals active in renewable and alternative energy both in Washington and elsewhere after the announcement didn’t turn up any sort of recognition of Bodman as having been active or involved in energy issues.

In his December 10 announcement of Bodman’s nomination, President Bush mentioned, among other things, the work DoE has done in the last four years “to develop a viable hydrogen powered automobile,” and he stressed that the administration will continue to “pursue more energy close to home” and to “develop and deploy the latest technology to provide a new generation of cleaner and more efficient energy sources.”

Said Bush, “I know Sam Bodman is the right man to lead this important and vital agency.”

Bodman’s appointment must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Source/Contact: www.whitehouse.gov/; www.commerce.gov/bios.