Quick Facts
Biography
Willie E. May is an American chemist who was director of the United States' National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology.
Early life and education
Willie May was born in Birmingham, Alabama and received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Knoxville College in 1968. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Maryland in 1977.
Career
May began working at NIST in 1971, when it was known as the National Bureau of Standards, and spent the next four decades at the agency.
In 2014 May was named Acting Director of NIST and Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology. He was permanently appointed to both positions in 2015 and confirmed by the United States Senate in May of that year.