Meyya Meyyappan is Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology at the Center for Nanotechnology, NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. Until June 2006, he served as the Director of the Center for Nanotechnology. He is a founding member of the Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (IWGN) established by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The IWGN is responsible for putting together the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

He has authored or co-authored over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and made over 200 Invited/Keynote/Plenary Talks in nanotechnology subjects across the world. His research interests include carbon nanotubes and various inorganic nanowires, their growth and characterization, and application development in chemical and biosensors, instrumentation, electronics and optoelectronics.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Electrochemical Society (ECS), the American Vacuum Society (AVS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), Institute of Physics (IOP), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the California Council of Science and Technology. In addition, he is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is currently the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (NTC) Distinguished Lecturer on Nanotechnology, IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Distinguished Lecturer, and was ASME's Distinguished Lecturer on Nanotechnology (2004-2006). He served as the President of the IEEE's Nanotechnology Council in 2006-2007. He currently serves as the Vice President of IEEE-EDS for Educational Activities.

For his contributions and leadership in nanotechnology, Dr. Meyyappan has received numerous awards including: a Presidential Meritorious Award; NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal; Arthur Flemming Award given by the Arthur Flemming Foundation and the George Washington University; IEEE Judith Resnick Award; IEEE-USA Harry Diamond Award; AIChE Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum Award; Distinguished Engineering Achievement Award by the Engineers' Council; Pioneer Award in nanotechnology by the IEEE-NTC. For his sustained contributions to nanotechnology, he was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame in February 2009. For his educational contributions, he has received the Outstanding Recognition Award from the NASA Office of Education; the 2004 Engineer of the Year Award by the San Francisco Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA); the 2007 IEEE-Electron Devices Society Education Award; and the IEEE Educational Activities Board Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education.