Richard Dinan

Richard Assheton Dermot Dinan is a British businessman, author, and former reality television personality. He first gained public attention as a cast member of the E4 reality series Made in Chelsea. Dinan later founded Pulsar Fusion, a company involved in developing nuclear fusion‑based propulsion technology. He is also the author of a popular science book on nuclear fusion.

Early life and education

Dinan was born in 1986 in England to Lady Charlotte Curzon and Captain John "Barry" Dinan. He is the grandson of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe and through his maternal lineage, he is a descendant of Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, a racing driver who won the 1931 Le Mans race. He is also the first cousin of Cressida Bonas.
Richard grew up in Penn, Buckinghamshire. Dinan attended St Edward's School, Oxford but left after completing his GCSEs at age 16. He trained briefly as a gunsmith with Holland & Holland before founding Ammunition, a short‑lived youth‑culture magazine.

In March 2012, Dinan joined the cast of the structured‑reality TV series Made in Chelsea, appearing as a supporting cast member from series 3 to 5 , with a brief return in series 10 . The series featured his development of a high‑tech wearable called the "Senturion".
Dinan also founded Applied Fusion Systems to develop compact fusion reactors for energy and spacecraft propulsion. In 2017, Pulsar Fusion began work on a Spherical tokamak reactor inspired by research at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
In 2017, Dinan authored The Fusion Age: Modern Nuclear Fusion Reactors. In the same year, he was among the patrons at a Christie’s art auction benefiting the Prince’s Foundation “Children & the Arts,” which provides arts‑engagement programs for disadvantaged youth.
Dinan serves as the chief executive officer of Pulsar Fusion. During his tenure, Pulsar Fusion developed and successfully tested nitrous oxide and polyethylene‑based rocket engines in 2021 at a Ministry of Defence site in Salisbury. In 2023, Pulsar Fusion introduced a fusion‑powered rocket concept called Sunbird.