Dmitri Dmitriyevich Ryutov (Russian: Дми́трий Дми́триевич Рю́тов; born March 6, 1940, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) is a Russian theoretical plasma

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

Early life and career

Ryutov graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1962 and from the

Kurchatov Institute The Kurchatov Institute (russian: Национальный исследовательский центр «Курчатовский Институт», 'National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute) is Russia's leading research and developmen ...

in 1965, where he received his doctorate in plasma theory in 1966. From 1968 to 1997, he was at the

Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics The Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP) is one of the major centres of advanced study of nuclear physics in Russia. It is located in the Siberian town Akademgorodok, on Academician Lavrentiev Avenue. The institute was founded by Gers ...

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, where he expanded the fusion research program from 1979 and was promoted from deputy director to chief scientist in 1994. He was also a professor of plasma physics at the

Novosibirsk State University Novosibirsk State University is a public research university located in Novosibirsk, Russia. The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research activities an ...

. From 1994, he was a senior visiting scientist at the

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...

(LLNL), where he became a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff in 2012. Ryutov retired from LLNL in 2016. Among other things, he dealt with mirror machines (including having proposed the

Gas Dynamic Trap The Gas Dynamic Trap is a magnetic mirror machine being operated at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics in Akademgorodok, Russia. Technical specifications Dimensions The plasma inside the machine fills a cylinder of space, 7 meters long and ...

(GDT) in Novosibirsk), Tokamak divertors,

particle beams A particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles. In particle accelerators, these particles can move with a velocity close to the speed of light. There is a difference between the creation and control of charged particle beams and neu ...

with high energy density, the Z-Pinch, solar and space physics, laboratory astrophysics,

X-ray optics X-ray optics is the branch of optics that manipulates X-rays instead of visible light. It deals with focusing and other ways of manipulating the X-ray beams for research techniques such as X-ray crystallography, X-ray fluorescence, small-angle X-ray ...

and magnetic levitation. He was involved in the experimental magnetic levitation system Inductrack, the Snowflake Divertor for tokamaks and X-ray diagnostics at Linac Coherent Light Source.

Honors and awards

Ryutov has been a corresponding member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

since 1976 and a full member since 1992. He became a Fellow of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

in 1998 and the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

in 2004. He became an Edward Teller Fellow of the LLNL in 2007 and received the

Distinguished Career Award A Distinguished Career Award is an award recognizing individuals for notable contributions to their fields, companies, or organizations. Distinguished Career Awards are typically bestowed on recipients later in their careers, as opposed to Early Ca ...

from Fusion Power Associates in 2010. In 2017, he received the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics for ''"many outstanding contributions to the theoretical plasma physics of low and high energy density plasmas, open and closed magnetic configurations, and laboratory and astrophysical systems".'' In 2020, Ryutov, with 10 other researchers from different institutions, jointly received the

John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research The American Physical Society gives out a number of awards for research excellence and conduct; topics include outstanding leadership, computational physics, lasers, mathematics, and more. ;David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials ...

for the generation of Weibel-mediated collisionless shocks in laboratory plasma experiments. He was part of a team that studied and observed Weibel-mediated collisionless shocks at the

National Ignition Facility The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a laser-based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research device, located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, United States. NIF's mission is to achieve fusion ignition wit ...

of LLNL.

Other publications

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References

{{Use mdy dates, date = February 2020 1940 births 20th-century Russian physicists 21st-century Russian physicists Living people Russian plasma physicists Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology alumni Academic staff of Novosibirsk State University Scientists from Moscow Scientists from Novosibirsk