David MacKay was born on 22 April 1967 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. He was married to Ramesh Ghiassi. He died on 14 April 2016 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK.
He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to scientific advice in government and science outreach. He is the Regius Professor of Engineering at Cambridge University Engineering Department in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.