Ray H. Baughman (January 14, 1943 – April 18, 2025) was an American chemist and nanotechnologist renowned for his pioneering work in artificial muscles and carbon nanotube-based materials. He held the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry and served as the Director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas).

Baughman's research focused on nanoscale materials and their applications in energy, sensing, and actuation. His major contributions include:
Artificial muscles: He developed materials that mimic muscle behavior, with uses in robotics and biomedicine.
Carbon nanotube yarns and sheets: His laboratory pioneered methods for spinning nanotubes into high-performance fibers.
Energy systems: He contributed to technologies for energy harvesting, storage, and conversion using nanostructured materials.
He held over 100 U.S. patents and authored more than 480 peer-reviewed publications.