Dr. Willie E. May currently serves as Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University. Previously, he served as the Senate-Confirmed Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, charged with overseeing the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Dr. May began his career as a research chemist at NIST/NBS and went on to work at every management level within the organization. His research intrace organic analytical chemistry and the physico-chemical properties of organic compounds is documented in over 100 peer-reviewed publications. He has delivered more than 250 invited lectures globally.
In addition to his responsibilities at Morgan, Dr. May is the immediate President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the National Science Board, and serves on the advisory board of the University of Maryland College Park’s College of Computer, Math, and Natural Sciences. In the recent past, he served as a member of the Consumer Reports Board of Directors; on advisory boards for Google Public Sector Research Technology, the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine, the National Network for Critical Technology Assessment (NNCTA); and as Vice President of the International Committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM) and President of the CIPM’s Consultative Committee for Chemistry and Biology.
Dr. May earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Knoxville College and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. His accolades include honorary doctorates from Wake Forest University and the University of Alabama Huntsville, multiple awards from the American Chemical Society, and recognition as the Federal Government’s “Top Chemist” by Chemical and Engineering News (in 2015). He is an Honorary Fellow of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
