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Main Speaker: 

The Honorable Dr. Willie E. May

Director Emeritus, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Director, Major Research and Training Initiatives - University of Maryland College Park

Title:  My Scientific Journey: From Liquid Chromatography to Leading the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Abstract:  

On May 4, 2015, Congress confirmed Dr. Willie E. May as the 15th Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and2nd Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, a position created in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. He retired from Federal Service on January 3rd, 2017.  He now serves as the Director of Major Research and Training Initiatives for the College of Computer, Mathematical and the Natural Sciences, University of Maryland College Park.

Dr. May had previously 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 NIST Director for Laboratory Programs, where he was responsible for oversight and direction of NIST's $700 M laboratory programs and served as the principal deputy to the NIST Director.

Prior to taking over leadership of the NIST Laboratory Programs in general,  Dr. May led NIST's research and measurement service programs in chemistry and biology related areas for more than 20 years. While at the bench, his personal research activities were focused in the areas of trace organic analytical chemistry and the determination of physico-chemical properties of organic compounds, where his work was described in more than 85 peer-reviewed archival publications. He has given more than 300 invited scientific lectures in venues throughout the world.

This talk will focus on his early career liquid chromatographic work related to:

·        Establishment Pure Assay Standards for Clinical Diagnostic Markers

·        Provision of a Pollution Baseline Assessment of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Prince William Sound prior to the establishment of the Trans Alaska Pipeline

·        Studies of retention mechanisms in liquid chromatography

·        Liquid Chromatographic Methods for value assignment of environmental, clinical and food-related Standard Reference Materials

·        Determination of Physio-Chemical Properties of Organic Compounds Using Liquid Chromatography

·        PAH Aqueous Solubilities, heats of solution, Setschenow Constants

·        PAH Vapor Pressures, heats of sublimation, octanol-water partition coefficients

Bio:

On January 3, 2017, Dr. Willie E. May retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology after 45.5 years of federal government service. He now serves as the Director of Major Research and Training Initiatives for the College of Computer, Mathematical and the Natural Sciences, University of Maryland College Park.

On May 4, 2015, Congress confirmed Dr. Willie E. May as the 15th Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and  2nd Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, a position created in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Dr. May had previously served as Acting NIST Director and Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology since June 2014. Prior to that assignment, he was NIST 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.

NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology. As NIST Director, Dr. May provided high-level oversight and direction for NIST’s Laboratory Programs, its’ Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, the Manufacturing USA National Program Office and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.  NIST's FY2016 Appropriation was $964M. In addition, NIST received ~ $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 4000 Associates from academia, U.S. industry, and other government agencies, who collaborate with NIST staff and access its 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.  

Prior to taking over leadership of the NIST Laboratory Programs in general,  Dr. May led NIST's research and measurement service programs in chemistry and biology related areas for more than 20 years. 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 peer-reviewed archival publications. He has given more than 300 invited scientific lectures in venues throughout the world.

Other National and International Responsibilities:

Dr. May had several leadership responsibilities in addition to those at NIST. He is 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 an Executive Board Member for the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM). He also serves on the Science and Technology Advisory Councils for the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) , China’a National Institute of Metrology, and European Commission’s Expert Panel for Certified Reference Materials. Until January 2017, he served as Co-Chair of the U.S. National Commission of Forensic Science (along with the Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.).

Honors and Awards:

Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award, 1981; National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award, 1982; Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award, 1985; Arthur Flemming Award for Outstanding Federal Service, 1986; NOBCChE Percy Julian Award for Outstanding Research in Organic Analytical Chemistry and Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Federal Executive, 1992; Department of Commerce Gold Medal, 1992; American Chemical Society Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry Award, 2001; Keynote Speaker-Winter Commencement Ceremonies, University of Maryland, College of Life Sciences, 2002; Council for Chemical Research Diversity Award, 2002; NOBCChE Henry Hill Award for exemplary work and leadership in the field of chemistry; Science Spectrum Magazine Emerald Award, 2005; Alumnus of the Year Award from the College of Chemical and Life Sciences at the University of Maryland, 2007; Member of the first class of inductees into the Knoxville College Alumni Hall of Fame, 2010; Fellow of the American Chemical Society, 2011; Honorary Doctor of Science and Speaker for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Commencement Exercises, Wake Forest University, 2012; Subject of Cover Story, Chemical Engineering News, 2015; Keynote Speaker-Winter Commencement Ceremonies, University of Maryland, College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, 2015; Laboratory Director of the Year, Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer, 2016; Honorary Doctor of Science Degree and Keynote Speaker for Commencement Exercises, University of Alabama at Huntsville, 2016; and American Chemical Society  Award for Public Service; 2017.

Dr. May received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Chemistry from Knoxville College in 1968 and his Ph.D in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland College Park in 1977.  

Prior to NIST, Dr. May was employed at the Oak Ridge (Tenn) Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, TN from 1968 – 1971.

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Student Speaker: Check back - information update coming soon!

Title: TBD  Abstract: TBD