The Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) mourns the passing of Michael May, a pioneering physicist who shaped the nation’s nuclear deterrence strategy and arms control policy for more than half a century. He died on May 17, 2026. He was 100.

From 1993 to 2000, Dr. May co-directed the Center for International Security and Cooperation, where he led research on nuclear posture, nonproliferation, terrorism and the role of civilian nuclear energy in national security. He also held positions as a senior fellow with the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) and as a professor in the Stanford School of Engineering.

In collaboration with scholars and policymakers, he published widely on risk mitigation, policy design and energy futures. Over the course of his career, Dr. May was recognized with many awards, including the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in 1970, the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal from the Department of Defense in 1975, an honorary degree from Whitman College in 1976, and the Distinguished Public Service Medal from the Department of Defense in 1979. He became a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1995. He was awarded the Presidential Medal from the University of California in 2002, Joseph A. Burton Forum award from APS in 2014, Alumni of Merit award from Whitman College in 2019.

Dr. Michael May was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Elizabeth Cottrell, and his sister Bella May. He is survived by his brother, Francis May, and his children Richard, Margaret, Barbara and John, and their families.

A public memorial service is planned for June 26th at the Graham-Hitch Mortuary in Pleasanton, California. Donations to Whitman College can be made in his memory. He was also a generous supporter of other organizations, including Oregon Shakespeare Festival and 10,000 degrees scholarship, who accept donations.

Below, several former colleagues offer their personal remembrances of Dr. May.

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Mike May was my idol, my hero. I decided to come to Stanford University and join CISAC after meeting with Mike during a visit in 2005. I had been at the Los Alamos National Lab for 34 years including as its director and was looking for a change. Mike told me that there is life after directorship. He had been director of our sister lab in Livermore and was enjoying academe and the students. He encouraged me to come to CISAC but advised me to also get an appointment in the School of Engineering, which I did. I enjoyed 17 years at Stanford enhanced by Mike’s presence and collaboration. He was an exceptional scholar, a great strategic thinker, a quiet, gentle man. I was fortunate to say that he was my friend. He made the world a better place. Condolences to his family and CISAC friends.

- Siegfried S. Hecker, former Co-Director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, and 5th director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory

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Mike May’s presence was a huge benefit to CISAC.  He had vast knowledge and experience of nuclear weapons from his time at Livermore.  He had a deep interest in arms control and took part in negotiations.  He and I were the co-directors of CISAC for several years, and it was a pleasure to work with him.  We took part in many seminars and discussions together.  He presented his views with great clarity and knowledge and with what I would describe as cautious wisdom.  I remember that in the early post-Cold War years he was skeptical of the more optimistic visions of nuclear peace, seeing that quarrels among the great powers over neighboring territories might be the cause of conflict.  That was before the war in Ukraine.

- David Holloway, former Co-Director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History, Professor of Political Science, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman-Spogli Institute of International Studies, Emeritus