Dr Melanie Windridge

Dr Melanie Windridge is a specialist in fusion energy who helps people see the value, opportunities and excitement of fusion. She is a plasma physicist, speaker and writer… with a taste for adventure.

Melanie has a PhD in plasma physics (fusion energy) from Imperial College London where she remains an Academic Visitor. She is the founder and CEO of Fusion Energy Insights, a company that keeps people up to date with developments in the growing fusion industry. She was previously UK Director of the Fusion Industry Association and has worked as a consultant for the privately-funded fusion company Tokamak Energy since 2013. She sits on the Advisory Boards of the UK Fusion Cluster and US non-profit Energy for the Common Good, and was elected a Fellow of the Clean Growth Leadership Network. Melanie is the author of Star Chambers: the race for fusion power and has also worked in education with the Ogden Trust, the Institute of Physics and the UK government campaign ‘Your Life.’

Melanie’s personal projects combine science with adventure. Her book Aurora: In Search of The Northern Lights (William Collins, 2016) investigates the science of the aurora against a backdrop of travel to illuminate its places, landscapes and stories. In 2018 Melanie climbed Mount Everest, filming and writing about her experience to tell the story of the science that gets us to the summit. She also produced a YouTube series for the Institute of Physics. Melanie is a previous Vice President of the prestigious Alpine Club.

A regular public speaker, Melanie has addressed audiences at wide-ranging events, from science and literature festivals to climate conferences and global summits. She is a frequent moderator and contributor to high level panel discussions on fusion and energy, and gives introductory talks on fusion to investors and business leaders.

Melanie has made countless television, radio and podcast appearances, both UK and abroad, including programmes for the BBC and National Geographic Channel. She has written articles for The Sunday Times Magazine, Forbes, Physics World and more.

Melanie is interested in the notion of ‘impossibles’ – grand challenges once seen as impossible, but made attainable through investigation, ingenuity and grit. Such ‘impossibles’ include the race to the poles, space and the journey to fusion energy. Melanie believes that science and exploration go hand in hand.