Derek Sutherland
Head of FuZE-Q Physics, Realta Fusion
About
Derek Sutherland is an American plasma physicist and fusion energy pioneer renowned for his work advancing commercial fusion technologies. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree (2015) with a PhD from the University of Washington and dual BS degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Physics from MIT, he co-founded and led CTFusion (2015–2023), developing spheromak-based reactors before the team joined Zap Energy. At Zap (2023–2025), he served as senior research scientist and Head of FuZE-Q Physics, contributing to sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch breakthroughs. In 2025, Sutherland joined Realta Fusion as Vice President of R&D, driving tandem magnetic mirror systems toward high-gain pilot plants like Hammir, with recent publications modeling Q>5 energy gains and instability mitigation.