Willie E. May, Ph.D

Member of Consumer Reports’ Board of Directors since 2019. Dr. Willie E. May is Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University, where he supports research throughout the University and oversees IP and commercialization efforts. He previously served as the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology & Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and as the Director of Major Research and Training Activities at the University of Maryland College Park. Dr. May’s laboratory-based research is described in more than 90 peer-reviewed technical publications. He was Vice President of the International Committee on Weights and Measures and has given more than 300 invited lectures at conferences and symposia around the world. He also served as Vice President of the 18-person International Committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM); President of the CIPM’s Consultative Committee on Metrology in Chemistry and Biology; and Executive Board Member for the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM). He still serves on the Science and Technology Advisory Boards for the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and China’s National Institute of Metrology. Dr. May earned his B.S in Chemistry from Knoxville College and his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park. His numerous honors and awards include: Honorary Doctorates from Wake Forrest University and the University of Alabama Huntsville; the American Chemical Society’s Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry and Career Public Service Awards; the Department of Commerce’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals; NOBCChE’s Percy Julian Award; in 2015, being recognized as the Federal Government’s “Top Chemist” by Chemical and Engineering News magazine, and Federal Laboratory Director of the year by the Federal Laboratory Consortium.