Title: Senior Research Development Scientist
Company: Lockheed Martin
Location: Chino Hills, California, United States
Artan Qerushi, PhD, senior research development scientist at Lockheed Martin, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in physics and research development.
Driven from a young age by a passion for science, applied mathematics and physics, Dr. Qerushi dreamt of leaving his home country of Albania to study and pursue a career in the United States. He initially worked as an engineer in Albania before immigrating to Italy in 1991. Not long after that, Dr. Qerushi made his childhood dream a reality when he immigrated to the United States in 1996. After completing his studies there, he began his professional journey.
Dr. Qerushi’s first role in the United States was as an assistant research physicist at the University of California, Irvine beginning in 2002. He gained further experience as a research scientist at Tri Alpha Energy. Associated with this organization for nearly 10 years, Dr. Qerushi demonstrated his expertise in developing clean energy solutions, with a focus on fusion energy. He also investigated fusion energy as a research development scientist for the Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base.
Since 2016, Dr. Qerushi has served as a senior research development scientist for Lockheed Martin. Among his responsibilities, he writes code, performs research tasks and creates simulation models to help test his ideas. Dr. Qerushi has made a name for himself as someone willing to tackle difficult problems, including those that some colleagues might consider impossible to solve. He gains great satisfaction from doing the hard work necessary to envision and test potential methods of overcoming these challenging obstacles.
Dr. Qerushi’s performance in his field was born of his academic path, beginning with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tirana in Albania in 1989. Subsequently, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Pisa in Italy in 1996. After immigrating to the U.S., Dr. Qerushi earned a PhD in plasma and high-temperature physics focused on research on advanced fuels for fusion reactors from the University of Florida in 2000. He went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Irvine in 2002.
While conducting research at the University of California, Irvine Dr. Qerushi contributed to four major papers that were published in the Journal of Plasma Physics between 2002 and 2005. These papers explored advanced fusion energy concepts that could generate power with minimal waste. Dr. Qerushi co-authored these papers with his PhD adviser, Dr. Norman Rostoker, a highly regarded physicist who held more than two dozen patents related to fusion technology. Dr. Qerushi considers these papers to be the greatest highlight of his scientific endeavors thus far. He has authored over 20 further publications and presented at multiple conferences.
In addition to his career, Dr. Qerushi is a devoted husband to his wife, Ting-ju Lai, and a loving father to his 18-year-old daughter, Melinda. He relaxes outside of work by hiking, visiting national parks, playing tennis and golf, and sailing. Looking toward the future, Dr. Qerushi plans to stay deeply involved in research, as it is his greatest passion. He has reached a point in his professional life where he could aim for a management-level position, but he prefers staying active in day-to-day research development and intends to do so.
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