On January 3, 2017, Dr. Willie E. May stepped down as the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology.
Dr. May had been confirmed by Congress as Director and Under Secretary on May 4, 2015. Prior to becoming the 15th NIST Director, he had served as Acting NIST Director and Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology since June 2014. Prior to that assignment, he was Associate Director for Laboratory Programs, where he was responsible for oversight and direction of NIST's seven laboratory programs and served as the principal deputy to the NIST Director.
As NIST Director, Dr. May provided high-level oversight and direction for NIST. The agency promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology. NIST's FY 2016 Appropriation is $964M. In addition, NIST receives an estimated $50 million in service fees and approximately $120 million for services rendered to other federal and state agencies on a cost reimbursable basis. NIST employs about 3,400 federal scientists, engineers, technicians, support staff, and administrative personnel at two main locations in Gaithersburg, MD, and Boulder, CO. NIST also hosts approximately 3,500 Associates from academia, U.S. industry, and other government agencies, who collaborate with NIST staff and access user facilities. NIST also partners with more than 1,300 manufacturing specialists and staff at more than 400 Manufacturing Extension Partnership locations around the country.
Dr. May led NIST's research and measurement service programs in chemistry-related areas for more than 20 years. Prior to that, his personal research activities were focused in the areas of trace organic analytical chemistry and physico-chemical properties of organic compounds, where his work was described in more than 85 archival publications.