# David MacKay

Sir David John Cameron MacKay (22 April 1967 - 14 April 2016) was a British physicist and mathematician known for contributions to information theory and Bayesian machine learning, and for authoring 'Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air'.

Sir David John Cameron MacKay (22 April 1967 - 14 April 2016) was a British physicist, mathematician, and academic. He held the Regius Professorship of Engineering at the [University of Cambridge](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/oxford-university) and served as Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change from 2009 to 2014. MacKay is known for his work in [machine-learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning) and information theory, including the development of Bayesian methods for [neural networks](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/neural-network) and the rediscovery of low-density parity-check codes. He authored the influential textbooks 'Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms' and 'Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air'.

## Education and early life

MacKay was born on 22 April 1967, the fifth child of Donald MacCrimmon MacKay and Valerie MacKay. His elder brother, Robert S. MacKay, is a mathematician and Fellow of the Royal Society. MacKay attended Newcastle High School and represented Britain at the International Physics Olympiad in Yugoslavia in 1985, receiving first prize for experimental work. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences (experimental and theoretical physics) in 1988. As a Fulbright Scholar, he moved to the California Institute of Technology, where his doctoral supervisor was John Hopfield; he received his PhD in 1992.

## Career and research

In January 1992, MacKay was appointed Royal Society Smithson Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge, conducting cross-disciplinary research at the Cavendish Laboratory. He became a University Lecturer in 1995, was promoted to Reader in 1999, and to Professor of Natural Philosophy in 2003. In 2013, he was appointed Regius Professor of Engineering.

MacKay's research contributions span information theory and [machine-learning](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/machine-learning). He developed Bayesian methods for [neural networks](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/neural-network), significantly improving their performance and enabling applications such as designing new types of steel for power stations. With Radford M. Neal, he rediscovered low-density parity-check codes, which are now used in satellite communications, digital broadcasting, and magnetic recording. He also invented Dasher, a software interface that allows efficient text entry using a single finger or head-mounted pointer, widely used by people with disabilities. MacKay cofounded the knowledge management company Transversal.

His 2003 textbook, 'Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms', became a standard reference in the field. He also taught at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cape Town from its foundation in 2003 to 2006, reflecting his interest in African development.

## Energy and public service

In 2008, MacKay completed 'Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air', a book analyzing energy consumption and production without fossil fuels. He funded the initial print run of 5,000 copies with £10,000 of his own money; the book sold out within days. It received praise from The Economist, The Guardian, and Bill Gates, who called it 'one of the best books on energy that has been written.' Like his information theory textbook, MacKay made the energy book freely available online. He gave a TED talk on renewable energy in March 2012.

In September 2009, MacKay was appointed Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, serving until October 2014, when he was succeeded by John Loughhead.

## Awards and honours

MacKay was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2009. His election certificate cited his introduction of more efficient error-correcting codes, his Bayesian foundation for artificial neural networks, and his design of the Dasher interface. In the 2016 New Year Honours, he was appointed Knight Bachelor 'for services to scientific advice in government and science outreach'.

## Personal life and death

MacKay married Ramesh Ghiassi in 2011; they had a son and a daughter. He was a vegetarian. In July 2015, he was diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer (malignant adenocarcinoma) and underwent palliative chemotherapy, documenting the process on his public blog. He died on 14 April 2016, survived by his wife and two children.

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Source: https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/david-mackay
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Last updated: 2026-09-12T22:24:59.401374+00:00