Sir David Randall Pye CB FRS[1] (29 April 1886 – 20 February 1960) was a British mechanical engineer and academic administrator.
He studied the mechanical sciences tripos at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with a third class honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1908.
In 1925, he left Cambridge to join the Air Ministry as deputy director of scientific research under H. E. Wimperis.
[2] In the 1937 Coronation Honours, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in recognition of his work at the Air Ministry.
[10] In February 1940, Pye initiated an ad hoc group within the Ministry of Aircraft Production, comprising four civilian scientists and one air commodore: this was the Aerial Attack on Dams Advisory Committee (AAD).
[15] Pye endorsed the paper, recognising that it filled a distinct hole in UCL student life after the Second World War.