Leadership Team

Liz is co-founder and CEO of Deep Fission, and a serial entrepreneur in the nuclear and environmental sectors. Before joining Deep Fission, she was Chief Executive at Deep Isolation, a pioneering nuclear waste startup, where she continues to serve as Board Chair. During her time at Deep Isolation, she redefined the way the world thinks about nuclear waste disposal, led the successful demonstration of the borehole technology now central to Deep Fission, and forged key partnerships across governments and the private sector.

Muller is also the co-author of two patents and was named a Clean Energy Rising Star by Business Insider in 2020. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is an author, inventor, dance instructor, and mother of two based in the Bay Area.

She holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from UC San Diego and an MBA from ESCP Business School in Paris.

Rich is co-founder and CTO of Deep Fission, and co-founder of Deep Isolation, a nuclear waste disposal company. He is also a Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. A prolific inventor with over 80 issued patents, Dr. Muller has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including key work on the safety of deeply buried nuclear waste.

His groundbreaking research has earned him numerous awards, including the MacArthur “Genius” Prize, the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award, and the Breakthrough Prize. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to his research, Dr. Muller has received multiple teaching awards and written ten books, including Physics for Future Presidents and Energy for Future Presidents. He was recognized as one of Time’s “People Who Mattered” in 2011.

Dr. Muller holds a B.A. in Physics from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Physics from UC Berkeley. He also served as a national security advisor to the U.S. government for over three decades.

Mal serves as the COO of Deep Fission, bringing a wealth of leadership experience and expertise in the nuclear industry. He honed his skills at West Point, where he studied Physics and Nuclear Engineering, and further developed them during his service as a Captain in the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces.

After earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, Thompson spent over a decade in finance, working as an investment banker, investor, and executive. Prior to joining Deep Fission, he served as CFO and later CEO of a growth-stage technology company in the Bay Area. He also advises a local food science company and is a board member of the West Point Alumni Association of the Bay Area.

Thompson lives in Mill Valley with his wife Kathryn and their three children. Together, they split their support between Bay Area and New England sports teams.

Bryan has held power trading roles at Black Hills Power, Tenaska, and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS).  At UAMPS, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and headed up strategic growth, transmission, and new developments, including the power marketing strategy for UAMPS’ 600 MW Small Modular Nuclear Reactor to be developed at the Idaho National Lab. After UAMPS, Black co-founded and was the CEO of Nodal Power, a landfill gas to energy development company. 

He holds an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree from Tulane University.

Ingrid leads Deep Fission’s licensing and regulatory department, maintaining the company’s compliance and reporting responsibilities to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She has been working in nuclear power since 2007. Nordby has made significant contributions to new nuclear development programs at CH2M Hill, X-Energy, and GE Vernova and on-site at operating plants for Xcel Energy and Duke Energy. Nuclear licensing provides her the balance of many interests: engineering, regulation, project management, and the environment. 

Nordby received undergraduate degrees in music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. She holds a professional engineering license in the state of North Carolina, where she resides with her cat.

Supna Zaidi brings over two decades of experience in law, policy, risk management, and consulting across both the private and nonprofit sectors. Supna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Theory and History from the University of California, San Diego, and a J.D. from New York Law School.

Anya brings over 10 years of experience in capital markets, specializing in raising debt and equity, including tax equity, for transformative infrastructure projects in the energy sector. With a proven ability to structure complex financial agreements and develop detailed financial models, Anya has played a key role in fostering strategic finance partnerships that enhance business growth. Her expertise encompasses crafting innovative corporate finance models that drive value for stakeholders. Anya has raised financing and contributed to high-impact projects at leading energy companies, including SunPower Corporation, NRG Energy, Clearway Energy, LanzaTech, and NuScale Power, across both US and EU markets.

Anya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of San Francisco.

With 20 years of experience in hospitality and event management, Jen has developed exceptional problem-solving skills and a strong ability to execute complex projects. After running her own company in San Francisco, California, she brings grit and perseverance to her role at Deep Fission, where the team is revolutionizing nuclear energy through innovative underground solutions.

Previously, as founder of Fuddhism Consulting, Jen successfully partnered with elite organizations, managing substantial budgets and leading cross-functional teams to create unforgettable event experiences. Now, at Deep Fission, she leverages her expertise to navigate the intricacies of a nuclear technology startup.

Jen has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of South Florida and resides in Lake Tahoe, California, with her husband and their three incredibly active boys.

Kwadwo brings years of core design experience designing the next generation of nuclear reactors to Deep Fission, Inc. His areas of expertise include nuclear fuels core design, cycle calculation folders and base models for preliminary and final reactor core reload as well as reactor control room startup physics testing.

Kwadwo obtained his bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering as part of a dual enrolment program between South Carolina State and University of Wisconsin-Madison and proceeded to New York City for his graduate studies in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. After graduate school, Kwadwo took on a commercial nuclear core design engineer role at Xcel Energy in Minneapolis, Minnesota on their Prairie Island Pressurized Water Reactor units 1 and 2 where he was involved in base model design, reactor core fuel calculations and Westinghouse fuel vendor oversight between Cranberry PA and Columbia SC.

Prior to joining Deep Fission Kwadwo was part of nuclear reactor design for the rollout of the Holtec International’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and contributed to candidate core design through equilibrium cycle, reviewed NRC Chapter 4 standard review plan for preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR) and designed SMR control rod assembly.