On May 4, 2015, the U.S. Senate confirmed Willie E. May as the second Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and the 15th director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
May has been serving as acting director since June 2014. He has worked at NIST since 1971, leading research activities in chemical and biological measurement science activities prior to serving as associate director for laboratory programs and principal deputy to the NIST director.
In addition to his responsibilities at NIST, May also serves as the vice president of the International Committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM) and president of the CIPM's Consultative Committee on Metrology in Chemistry and Biology. Before joining NIST (then the National Bureau of Standards), May worked as a senior analyst at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. At NIST, his research has focused on trace organic analytical measurement science, the physical and chemical properties of organic compounds and liquid chromatography, which is used to identify the components in a mixture.
Among many other awards and honors, May was elected a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2011. He has been recognized with the Department of Commerce's Bronze (1981), Silver (1985) and Gold (1992) medals. The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) has recognized him with both the Percy Julian Award for outstanding research in organic analytical chemistry and the Henry Hill Award for exemplary work and leadership in the field of chemistry. May received the 2007 Alumnus of the Year Award from the College of Chemical and Life Sciences at the University of Maryland, and in 2010 he was among the first class of inductees into the Knoxville College Alumni Hall of Fame. He was the keynote speaker for the 2002 winter commencement ceremonies for the University of Maryland's College of Life Sciences, and for Wake Forest University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences commencement exercises in 2012.
