Dmitri M. Orlov

Dmitri M. Orlov leads research at the intersection of plasma physics, fusion science, computational modeling, and intelligent control. Working closely with the DIII-D National Fusion Facility and U.S. and international collaborators, he studies the response of tokamak plasmas to three-dimensional, non-axisymmetric magnetic fields; the control of edge-localized modes and other plasma instabilities; core and edge transport; and heat and particle transport to divertor and plasma-facing materials. This work supports the development of predictive understanding and robust control techniques for ITER and future burning-plasma devices.

His current research also advances reactor-relevant sensing and control using machine learning and reinforcement learning. Projects include plasma-state classification using reduced diagnostic sets, neural-network reconstruction of plasma boundaries and equilibria, and learning-based plasma-shape control. Other efforts use periodic-orbit theory to identify coherent structures in plasma turbulence, investigate energetic-electron transport in magnetic islands and stochastic fields, and study plasma–material interactions under extreme heat fluxes.

Orlov’s group combines first-principles and reduced modeling, surrogate models, artificial intelligence, synthetic diagnostics, high-performance computing, and experiments. The group also applies plasma facilities and methods to interdisciplinary problems, including spacecraft heat-shield ablation, meteoritic chemistry, and space-weather analogs.

Dmitri M. Orlov is an Associate Research Scientist and Principal Investigator at the UC San Diego Center for Energy Research, an Educator in UC San Diego’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Physics at Auburn University.

He received his B.S. with Honors in 1998 and M.S. with Honors in 2000 in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He earned an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering in 2005 and a Ph.D. in 2007 from the University of Notre Dame. His doctoral research developed first-principles engineering models of single-dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma actuators for aerodynamic flow control.

After completing his doctorate, Orlov joined the Department of Physics at the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he worked on magnetohydrodynamic and particle-in-cell modeling of atmospheric barrier discharges. He joined the UC San Diego Center for Energy Research in 2008 and works closely with the DIII-D National Fusion Facility.

Orlov has co-authored more than 85 peer-reviewed papers and dozens of conference proceedings papers. As of June 2026, his work had received more than 6,000 citations, with an h-index of 35. His current professional leadership includes Past-Chair of MagNetUS (2024–2027), Chair of the U.S. Transport Task Force (2026–2028), Chair of Sherwood Fusion Theory (2026), Vice Chair of the Coalition for Plasma Science (2021–present), and membership on the DIII-D User Board Council (2024–present). He previously served as a Member-at-Large of the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics Executive Committee (2020–2023).

Dmitri M. Orlov has co-authored more than 85 peer-reviewed papers and dozens of conference proceedings papers. His publications span plasma aerodynamics, three-dimensional magnetic fields and edge-instability control, tokamak transport, artificial-intelligence-enabled plasma sensing and control, plasma turbulence, plasma–material interactions, and fusion engineering.

Selected recent publications:

• D.M. Orlov et al., “Predicting core transport in ITER baseline discharges with neon injections,” Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 68, 035019 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/ae4f22

• G.F. Subbotin et al., “Demonstration of reconstruction-free static magnetic control of DIII-D plasma with deep reinforcement learning,” Nuclear Fusion 66, 026040 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/ae34c6

• R. Clark et al., “Plasma Confinement State Classification via FPP Relevant Microwave Diagnostics,” Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 68, 015022 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6587/ae363c

• S.D.V. Williams, M.N. Gudorf, and D.M. Orlov, “Understanding Plasma Turbulence Through Exact Coherent Structures,” Physics of Plasmas 32, 092302 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0282368

• N.C. Hurst et al., “MagNetUS: a magnetized plasma research ecosystem,” Journal of Plasma Physics 91, E32 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022377825000017

A complete and regularly updated publication list is available at https://dmorlov.com/ and through Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GctRRcEAAAAJ&hl=en