2025 Seattle Fusion Week

Dr. Christopher Keane, Senior Advisor to the Provost and Executive Vice President, Professor of Physics, Washington State University

Dr. Christopher Keane is Senior Advisor to the Provost at Washington State University (WSU) and Professor of Physics. From July 2014 to December 2023, he served as Vice President for Research at WSU and Vice Chancellor for Research of the WSU Pullman campus. He led WSU efforts to expand research and scholarship opportunities for WSU faculty and staff, bring WSU innovations to the marketplace, improve the University’s research infrastructure and operational performance, and enhance research funding. During his tenure WSU significantly expanded its large research awards and partnerships with other leading research institutions.

Prior to joining WSU in 2014, Dr. Keane performed a variety of scientific and leadership roles related to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), ultimately serving as Director of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) User Office. Dr. Keane also served in the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration as a member of the Senior Executive Service, where he led the U.S. ICF Program, including construction of the stadium-sized NIF laser and development of the NIF ignition program.

Dr. Keane holds B.S. degrees in Physics and Engineering from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences and the American Physical Society. He is the recipient of the NNSA Silver Medal, the Defense Programs Award of Excellence, and the Fusion Power Associates Special Award.

Kate Kelly, Chief of Staff, Avalanche Energy

Kate is Chief of Staff at Avalanche Energy: a Seattle-based, venture-backed fusion energy startup developing modular fusion microreactors. Prior to joining Avalanche, Kate worked in Product Management at DreamBox Learning and Microsoft. Kate is an Electrical Engineer by training, having previously worked in nuclear consulting and always dreamed of working on Climate Tech. 

Alex Cheung, Director of Design Integration, Zap Energy

Alex Cheung is the Director of Design Integration at Zap Energy, where he leads engineering initiatives that connect cutting-edge fusion science with practical hardware development. He brings over two decades of experience in fusion energy research, development, and project execution. Since joining Zap in 2022, Alex has led the design and commissioning of Century, a first-of-its-kind fusion test platform, and serves as the technical lead for Zap’s fusion pilot plant program. Prior to Zap, Alex spent more than 15 years at TAE Technologies, where he led multidisciplinary teams on fusion demonstration plants and contributed to the development of several key fusion devices. He also served as project manager for the construction and deployment of a novel radiation therapy system in China. Alex holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Irvine.

Bibake Uppal, Head of Kyoto Fusioneering America

Bibake Uppal leads KF America, Kyoto Fusioneering’s (KF) Seattle-based U.S. arm, where he drives strategic partnerships, business development, and external affairs across North America. Under his leadership, KF entered a novel public-private joint venture in Canada, expanded its U.S. commercial and strategic relationships, secured cooperative-research grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, and expanded its investor base to North America.

Before KF, Bibake led multinational teams advising large-cap clients in Energy, Resources & Industrials, and Food & Agriculture on M&A strategy and post-merger integration with Deloitte Consulting. He also served as a corporate communications strategist for a Canadian Crown corporation. In a prior life, he was an NCAA and CFL athlete, and a forest firefighter.

He holds an MBA and M.S. in Big Data and Business Analytics from IE Business School, and a B.A. in Communications from Simon Fraser University.

Dr. Greg Van Dyk, CEO, Altrusion

Dr. Greg Van Dyk is the CEO of Altrusion, a fusion energy supply chain company located in Sedro-Woolley, WA. Prior to his role in Altrusion, Col (ret) Van Dyk’s Air Force career included conducting research to leading international efforts and large programs. His nuclear engineering PhD involved both computational and experimental fusion research and was followed by a tour at the Department of Energy (DOE) leading an office funding over $200 million in yearly research and development (R&D) at 3 national laboratories. Following his tour at DOE, Dr. Van Dyk led two Department of Defense (DoD) multi-billion-dollar Acquisition Category (ACAT) 1 programs, one in development and one transitioning into production. Following his program management positions, he was named as the Chief Scientist of the largest DoD acquisition program in development and led multiple R&D efforts across DoD and DOE. Dr. Van Dyk was then stationed in the United Kingdom leading joint research between the U.K. Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Air Force and served as DoD’s lead for fusion technologies engaging the U.K. and U.S. fusion energy and space propulsion communities.

Jill Thornton, Executive Director, Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing

Jill Thornton is the Executive Director of the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing, where she leads statewide initiatives to align educational programs with the evolving needs of industry. With deep expertise in managing grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education, Jill has played a pivotal role in launching mechatronics programs and advancing student success strategies. A dedicated advocate for workforce development, she works at the intersection of education, industry, and innovation to build pathways that meet the demands of a rapidly evolving aerospace and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Ryan Umstattd, VP of Product & Partnerships, Zap Energy

Ryan is the Vice President of Product and Partnerships for Zap Energy where he is developing the go-to-market strategy for cost-effective fusion energy. After completing his PhD in Applied Science (Plasma Physics), Ryan served for 20 years in the Air Force as a scientist, professor, and program manager for a first-of-its kind satellite. Prior to transitioning to the private sector, he also served at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) where he helped prepare breakthrough energy technologies for transition from the lab to customers within the Department of Defense. During his last year at ARPA-E, he was the Deputy Director for Commercialization, responsible for oversight of 11 tech-to-market advisors and the hands-on management provided to 300+ project teams for a $250M/yr research and development portfolio.

Rachelle Ames, Vice President of Economic Development, CleanTech Alliance

Rachelle Ames leads the BUILT Cluster focusing on decarbonizing infrastructure and built environment and one of the initial clusters launched by the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Innovation Cluster Accelerator Program. She also leads the Alliance’s entrepreneur support programs and has developed the new Lab2Launch resource focusing on breaking down barriers between industry and the Northwest’s academic institution resources.

In addition to entrepreneur support and commercialization activities, she leads member and sponsors development and engagement, and partnership outreach for the Alliance. Rachelle joined the CleanTech Alliance in 2018, after five years at Washington State University working within the Office of Research and focused on industry-academia engagement and technology transfer.

She has a Professional Science Masters (PSM) in Molecular Biosciences from Washington State University and is passionate about helping scientists, engineers, technical founders, and industry communicate their technologies and innovations to others to increase collaboration opportunities through shared understanding.

Outside of work, Rachelle enjoys playing tennis with her husband – Collin, laughing at their two cats, attending rock concerts, and cheering for her favorite sports teams (Go Cougs, Seahawks, and Mariners!)

Shaun Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer, Peak Nano

Shaun Walsh is a long-time student and practitioner of marketing, seeking a balance between storytelling, technology, and market/audience development. He has held various executive and senior management positions in marketing, sales, engineering, alliances, and corporate development at Cylance (now BlackBerry), Security Scorecard, Emulex (now Broadcom), and NetApp. He has helped develop numerous start-ups that have achieved successful exits, including IPOs (Overland Data, JNI) and M&A deals with (Emuelx, Cylance, and Igneous). Mr. Walsh is an active industry speaker (RSA, BlackHat, InfoSec, SNIA, FS-ISAC), media/podcasts contributor (Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CRN, MSSP World), and founding editor of The Cyber Report. He loves lifting heavy things for CrossFit and strongman competitions, waiting for Comic Con, trying to design the perfect omelet, or rolling on the mat. Mr. Walsh holds a BS in Management from Pepperdine University. 

Dr. Jim McCarrick, High Energy Density (HED) and Photon Systems Program Director, Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL)

Jim McCarrick is the Program Director for the High Energy Density (HED) and Photon Systems element within the NIF & Photon Science (NIF&PS) Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL). He oversees development and deployment of advanced short-pulse lasers and the experimental platforms and systems that leverage those lasers, with application to HED science and inertial fusion energy.

Jim has been at LLNL for 26 years and has worked in a variety of science and engineering areas that serve LLNL’s core mission of strategic deterrence. In recent years his focus has been bringing LLNL’s capabilities to adjacent national needs, primarily for the Department of Defense and Department of Energy. He holds a B.S. degree in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he studied magnetic fusion