Matthew Thompson is VP of Systems Engineering at Zap Energy. He leads a 35-person division tasked with increasing the technology readiness level of fusion power plant technologies including liquid metal first wall and blanket, durable cathodes, and repetitive pulsed power.

Dr. Thompson received his BS in physics from Stanford Univ., and his MS and PhD in experimental plasma physics are from the UCLA. He previously has worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, TAE Technologies, and BAE Systems. Dr. Thompson is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), past Chair of the APS Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics, and a past Chair of the APS Committee on Careers and Professional Development. He has also mentored dozens of STEM students, and co-founded a major mentoring program called IMPact. Matthew writes about career issues for physical scientists on his personal website and on his book website.