A West Virginia University graduate who has been a successful entrepreneur, inventor and highways official will return to his alma mater Friday, Sept. 17, to help pave the way for tomorrow’s engineers.

Samuel G. Bonasso, deputy administrator in the U.S. Department of Transportation, will speak onCuriosity, Engineers and the Laws of Success for the 21st Centuryat 11 a.m. in the National Research Center for Coal and Energy, Assembly Room A.

Bonasso’s talkwhich is open to the publicis part of the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. It will focus on both the technical and non technical aspects of engineering.

Mr. Bonasso is a well-read man and has always taken a special interest in the arts,said David Martinell, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.He intentionally reaches into other domains such as religion, politics and society and ties them into engineering.

After graduating from the WVU Department of Civil Engineering in 1964, Bonasso founded Ski Lift International in 1965 and Alpha Associates Inc. in 1969. He served as the sixth secretary of transportation for West Virginia from 1998-2000.

His current job is a senior executive service appointment in the Bush administration. He has executive responsibility for the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, the Office of Pipeline Safety, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center , the Safety Institute and the Office of Innovation and Research.

Bonasso has published numerous papers and holds four U.S. patents on the Tension Archstructural system that can be used in bridges, tunnels and buildings.

He was recognized this year by the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival as the West Virginia Italian American Man of the Year.