Gary Stephen May (born May 17, 1964) is the chancellor of the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. From May 2005 to June 2011, he was the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. He served as the Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Engineering from July 2011 until June 2017. In 2018, May was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

for contributions to semiconductor manufacturing research and innovations in educational programs for underrepresented groups in engineering.

Biography

Early life

May was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He attended the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he was a member of the ANAK Society. May graduated in 1985 with a B.E.E. degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He then attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he earned an M.S. (1987) and Ph.D. (1991), both in electrical engineering and computer science.

Georgia Tech

May joined the Georgia Tech ECE faculty in 1991 as a member of the School's microelectronics group. His research is in the field of computer-aided manufacturing of integrated circuits. He was a

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

"National Young Investigator" (1993–98) and was Editor-in-Chief of ''

IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing The ''IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the IEEE. It covers research on semiconductor device fabrication, including simulation and modeling from the factory to the deta ...

'' (1997–2001). He has authored over 200 articles and technical presentations in the area of IC computer-aided manufacturing. In 2001, he was named

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

Foundation Professor, and was appointed associate chair for Faculty Development. May is the founder of Georgia Tech's Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering/Science (SURE) program, a summer research program designed to attract talented minority students into graduate school. He also is the founder and director of Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science program (FACES), a program designed to encourage minority engagement in engineering and science careers in academia. May was a National Science Foundation and an

AT&T Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

graduate fellow, and has worked as a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in

Murray Hill, New Jersey Murray Hill is an unincorporated community located within portions of both Berkeley Heights and New Providence, located in Union County in northern New Jersey, United States. It is the longtime central location of Bell Labs (part of Nokia si ...

. He is a member of the National Advisory Board of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

Controversy

May has been a member of the Board of Directors for defense contractor Leidos since 2015. Succeeding former UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, he has received criticism since taking the position for participating in outside boards. His involvement with Leidos—which frequently works with government agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the National Security Agency, United States Border Patrol, and the United States Department of Homeland Security—has prompted criticism from media outlets and students in the Davis community.

Notable awards

Member, 2018
Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentorship
2015
ECEDHA Leadership Award
2015 *

AAAS Fellow Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

, 2009. *

IEEE Fellow As of 2019, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has 5,082 members designated Fellow, each of whom is associated with one of the 41 societies under the IEEE. The Fellow grade of membership is the highest level of membershi ...

, 2006. "For contributions to education in semiconductor manufacturing and engineering."

References

External links

Georgia Tech SURE Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Gary S. 1964 births Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow Members of the IEEE Georgia Tech faculty Georgia Tech alumni Living people UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni Chancellors of the University of California, Davis People from St. Louis