David MacKay (scientist)
Encyclopedia
David John Cameron MacKay, FRS, (born April 22, 1967) is the professor
of natural philosophy
in the department of Physics
at the University of Cambridge
and chief scientific adviser to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change
(DECC). Before being appointed to the DECC, MacKay was most well known as author of the book Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air..
and Valerie MacKay. His elder brother Robert S. MacKay FRS (born in 1956) is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
. He was educated at Newcastle High School (later Newcastle-under-Lyme School) and represented Britain in the International Physics Olympiad
in Yugoslavia in 1985, receiving the first prize for experimental work. MacKay went up to Trinity College, Cambridge
and received a Bachelor of Arts
in Natural Sciences
(Experimental and Theoretical Physics) in 1988. He went to the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech) as a Fulbright Scholar. His supervisor in the graduate programme in Computation and Neural Systems was John Joseph Hopfield
. He was awarded a PhD
in 1992.
In January 1992 MacKay was made the Royal Society
Smithson Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge
, continuing his cross-disciplinary research in the Cavendish Laboratory
, the Department of Physics of the University of Cambridge. In 1995 he was made a University Lecturer in the Cavendish Laboratory. He was promoted in 1999 to a Readership and in 2003 to a Professorship in Natural Philosophy. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 2009.
MacKay's contributions in machine learning
and information theory
include the development of Bayesian methods for neural network
s, the rediscovery (with Radford M. Neal) of low-density parity-check code
s, and the invention of Dasher
, a software application for communication especially popular with those who cannot use a traditional keyboard. In 2003, his book Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms was published.
His interests beyond research include the development of effective teaching methods and African development; he taught regularly at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
in Cape Town
from its foundation in 2003 to 2006. In 2008 he completed a book on energy consumption and energy production without fossil fuel
s called Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air. MacKay used £10,000 of his own money to publish the book, and the initial print run of 5,000 sold within days. The book 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 textbook on Information theory, MacKay makes the book available for free online.
David MacKay was appointed to be Chief Scientific Advisor of the Department of Energy and Climate Change
in September 2009 to take up the post on 1 October 2009.
MacKay has an Erdős number
of 2, and is a vegetarian.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of natural philosophy
Natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature , is a term applied to the study of nature and the physical universe that was dominant before the development of modern science...
in the department of Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and chief scientific adviser to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change
Department of Energy and Climate Change
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
(DECC). Before being appointed to the DECC, MacKay was most well known as author of the book Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air..
Life
MacKay was born the fifth child of Donald MacCrimmon MacKayDonald MacCrimmon MacKay
Donald MacCrimmon MacKay was a physicist who as 'Granada Research Professor' founded the Department of Communication and Neuroscience at the University of Keele...
and Valerie MacKay. His elder brother Robert S. MacKay FRS (born in 1956) is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
. He was educated at Newcastle High School (later Newcastle-under-Lyme School) and represented Britain in the International Physics Olympiad
International Physics Olympiad
The International Physics Olympiad is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967....
in Yugoslavia in 1985, receiving the first prize for experimental work. MacKay went up to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Natural Sciences
Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
The Natural Sciences Tripos is one of the several courses which form the University of Cambridge system of undergraduate teaching...
(Experimental and Theoretical Physics) in 1988. He went to the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
(Caltech) as a Fulbright Scholar. His supervisor in the graduate programme in Computation and Neural Systems was John Joseph Hopfield
John Joseph Hopfield
John Joseph Hopfield is an American scientist most widely known for his invention of an associative neural network in 1982. It is now more commonly known as the Hopfield Network....
. He was awarded a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1992.
In January 1992 MacKay was made the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
Smithson Research Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge
Darwin College, Cambridge
Darwin College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.Founded in 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and women. The college is named after the family of one of the university's most famous graduates, Charles Darwin...
, continuing his cross-disciplinary research in the Cavendish Laboratory
Cavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
, the Department of Physics of the University of Cambridge. In 1995 he was made a University Lecturer in the Cavendish Laboratory. He was promoted in 1999 to a Readership and in 2003 to a Professorship in Natural Philosophy. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 2009.
MacKay's contributions in machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
and information theory
Information theory
Information theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
include the development of Bayesian methods for neural network
Neural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
s, the rediscovery (with Radford M. Neal) of low-density parity-check code
Low-density parity-check code
In information theory, a low-density parity-check code is a linear error correcting code, a method of transmitting a message over a noisy transmission channel, and is constructed using a sparse bipartite graph...
s, and the invention of Dasher
Dasher
Dasher is a computer accessibility tool which enables users to write without using a keyboard, by entering text on a screen using a pointing device such as a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a roller ball, a joystick, a Push-button, a Wii Remote, or even mice operated by the foot or head...
, a software application for communication especially popular with those who cannot use a traditional keyboard. In 2003, his book Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms was published.
His interests beyond research include the development of effective teaching methods and African development; he taught regularly at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences is a tertiary education and research institute in Muizenberg, South Africa, established in September 2003...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
from its foundation in 2003 to 2006. In 2008 he completed a book on energy consumption and energy production without fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s called Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air. MacKay used £10,000 of his own money to publish the book, and the initial print run of 5,000 sold within days. The book received praise from The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, who called it "one of the best books on energy that has been written." Like his textbook on Information theory, MacKay makes the book available for free online.
David MacKay was appointed to be Chief Scientific Advisor of the Department of Energy and Climate Change
Department of Energy and Climate Change
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
in September 2009 to take up the post on 1 October 2009.
MacKay has an Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
of 2, and is a vegetarian.