Daya Reddy is Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and former Director of the Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics there. He holds a bachelors degree in civil engineering from UCT and Ph.D. degree at Cambridge University in the UK. His research lies in the domain of mathematical modelling, analysis and simulation in mechanics. He has made significant contributions to theories of complex material behaviour, to aspects of soft tissue biomechanics, and to the development of accurate and convergent methods of computational approximation.
Daya Reddy held the position of inaugural president of the International Science Council from 2018 to 2021. In addition, he recently completed a six-year term as co-chair of the policy branch of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). He has served as President of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and is an elected Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and the International Association of Computational Mechanics. His awards include the Order of Mapungubwe from the President of South Africa, and the Georg Forster Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.