David J. C. Mac Kay - Science Outreach and Service

Science Outreach and Service

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 fuels 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. In March 2012 he gave a TED talk on renewable energy.