In situ with Willie May

Willie May is the immediate past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as well as vice president of research and economic development at Morgan State University – a historically Black university (HBCU) in Baltimore, Maryland. He previously directed the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (Nist), where before becoming director and under secretary for standards and technology, he led the agency’s research and measurement service programmes in chemistry, biology and related areas for more than 20 years. The following is based on May’s presidential address at the annual meeting of the AAAS in Boston on 13 February, 2025 

I grew up in the projects of Birmingham, Alabama, thinking that I wanted to be a baseball player like my homeboy namesake Willie Mays. In fact, my high school baseball coach was Willie’s best friend, and they had played on the Birmingham Black Barons together [a ‘Negro League’ baseball team that played from around 1920 until 1960].

When Willie would come to Birmingham in the early 1960s … he would come and watch our baseball practice, and he gave me one of his uniforms at that time. I weighed all of 130 pounds, so it was too big for me. But, I played baseball my freshman year in college and being the little hot dog that I was, I would show it off by practicing in it.

The advancements that follow from our robust investments in science capture the imagination, push the envelope of what we believe can be possible. But we also need to find and support what we call the ‘missing millions’ – those are the scientists among us who have not yet joined the enterprise. In fact, they may not know they are scientists, and many of them don’t feel that they’re invited into our community.

I was on track to become one of those ‘missing millions’ growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in Birmingham, but science proved to be my way out. I had a high school chemistry teacher, Mr Cook, who took five of us aside in the 10th grade and for the next three years, during our study hall, mentored and prepared us for college level chemistry.

We can’t maintain our global competitiveness without nurturing scientists who don’t have a home to go back to

I had never met a practicing chemist, but the tools that he gave us gave me confidence that I could in fact be something that I – in fact – had never seen.

I spent more than 45 years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology – working at every level of the organisation. When I joined in 1971, it was not diverse in any sense of the word. But it proved to be a scientific meritocracy – a place where a person of colour like me had the opportunity to prove themselves and advance based on the quality and quantity of their ideas, research productivity, perseverance and programmatic results.

International scientists and educators are increasingly returning home. We in the US can’t maintain our global competitiveness without training and nurturing scientists who don’t have a home to go back to! Those ‘missing millions’ who grew up in this country and who are US citizens. That is the only way that we – as a nation – can compete going forward.

We – as scientists – must show the public that we are trustworthy and responsible. We must be able to meet people, no matter where they are and what they believe, and show them that the scientific community is part of – not separate from – their communities.

I came to understand my responsibility after a dream I had about my deceased mother in 2018 … where [she] said to me, ‘What are you going to do to repay all of those people who made so many sacrifices to put you in a position to do all this stuff you like to brag to me about?’ I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat, and decided that ’the University of Maryland does not really need me’ and that I needed to perhaps look at giving back by working at an HBCU.

Are you showing up for science at this critical moment? 

The next day while driving from the University of Maryland to my office at Nist that I still maintained after retiring, out of the clear blue I get a call from David Wilson, the president of Morgan State University … and he said he needed someone to come lead the research enterprise there at Morgan State and could think of no better person than I to do that. The fact that he called me the day after I had that transformational dream … I felt that this was my destiny to come to Morgan State University – even at the ripe ole age of 71!

I want to … ask you a few questions. Are you where you need to be so that science can shape tomorrow? Are you showing up for science at this critical moment? Are you doing all you can to create a better future by supporting thoughtful investment, strategic support for the scientific workforce and a commitment to scientific integrity? Do you have the energy, optimism and focus that are needed to bring this future into view?

It’s hard but stay tuned into the news so that you are aware of the policy changes that affect your work and your workplace, and they are coming at a dizzying speed. Continue to mentor and encourage students and early career scientists and engineers. You may hear that they are discouraged at this time, and that is certainly understandable. Tell them that it makes sense to be anxious, but that we’ve been through these sorts of things before and come out better for it on the other side.