Derrick Bwalya is research assistant on the African Extractivism and Green Transition (AEGT) project. He is also a Research Associate at Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) in Lusaka, Zambia. He holds a bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental studies and a Master of Science in the same field from the University of Zambia.

Earlier, Derrick worked as a Research Assistant on Recovering Embedded Heat in Zambian Food production (REHEATZ) (2023-2026), which was funded by Research Ireland. While working on the project, he immensely contributed to the recovery of thermal energy from wastewater, reduction of carbon emissions, and air pollution at food production Companies through a high efficiency heat recovery technology that retained the recovered energy into a steam-production boiler to reduce the use of coal and other fossil fuels when heating water to generate steam for production. Additionally, Derrick conducted feasibility studies on some Zambian Mines to assess the potential of heat recovery in the sector.