Emeritus Professor Dayanand Reddy
Professor Daya Reddy
Vice-Chancellor interim – until 31 July 2024
Batmanathan Dayanand (Daya) Reddy BSc (Eng) (Cape Town), PhD (Cantab), DSc (honoris causa) (Stellenbosch)
Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics
Daya Reddy graduated with a BSc degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town in 1973, with first-class honours, and a PhD degree in Engineering from Cambridge University in 1977. He held a post-doctoral position during 1978 at University College London, and joined the University of Cape Town in 1979 as a Lecturer, jointly in the Departments of Civil Engineering and Applied Mathematics. He was appointed Professor of Applied Mathematics in 1989, and to the South African Research Chair in Computational Mechanics in 2006.
He has held various leadership positions in the Centre for Research in Computational and Applied Mechanics (CERECAM) and its predecessors, in particular as Director 1999 to 2021.
At the University of Cape Town he has served as head of the Department of Applied Mathematics (1989–1994); and as dean of the Faculty of Science (1999–2005). He was elected by the Senate to serve three terms on the Council, the governing body of the university. He also served as an acting deputy vice-chancellor over three periods, for a total of over two years.
Daya Reddy’s research interests lie in the broad area of solid and computational mechanics, straddling applied mathematics and engineering sciences. He enjoys considerable recognition nationally and internationally as a leader in his research field. Particular areas of interest include plasticity, finite element methods, and biological and biomedical mechanics.
Professor Reddy is the author, co-author or editor of over 200 publications, including two research monographs, two texts, and three edited volumes of invited papers. He has taught across the curriculum at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and supervised to graduation 33 PhD and 38 Masters graduates, as well as 21 post-doctoral researchers. These include students and postdoctoral fellows from 14 African countries.
Daya Reddy served for three years, from 2018, as the President of the International Science Council (ISC), a body comprising 45 international scientific unions and associations, and national and regional scientific organizations from around 150 countries. He also served as co-chair of the policy arm of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), a global body comprising 140 national and regional merit-based academies. He currently chairs the International Advisory Board of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.
Daya Reddy is the only South African to be an elected fellow or member of all four South African academies: the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), by legislation the official academy of South Africa; the South African Academy of Engineering; the Royal Society of South Africa; and the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. He is also a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the African Academy of Sciences; and a Fellow of the International Science Council. In 2024 he was elected a Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican, and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He was elected a Fellow of the International Association for Computational Mechanics in 2008.
Daya Reddy received the National Order of Mapungubwe (Bronze), bestowed by the President of the Republic of South Africa, in 2004, for distinguished international achievements. In 2012 he received the prestigious Georg Forster Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. In 2021 he received the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, from the University of Stellenbosch.