Biography.guide
Home › People › Physicist › Vitaly Shafranov
Portrait of Vitaly Shafranov

Vitaly Shafranov

1929 – 2014

Soviet plasma physicist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Vitaly Shafranov

Lived 1929 – 2014 (aged 84). Vitaly Shafranov was a Russian physicist and nuclear physicist, known for Grad–Shafranov equation and Kruskal–Shafranov instability.

Vitaly Dmitrievich Shafranov (; December 1, 1929 – June 9, 2014) was a Russian theoretical physicist and Academician who worked with plasma physics and thermonuclear fusion research.

Life Vitaly Dmitrievich Shafranov was born in the village of Mordvinovo in Ryazan region in 1929. During World War II, Schafranov attended the school and worked together with his father building roads. In 1943 he got his first national award at the age 14.

In 2001 he received the Hannes Alfvén Prize. In 1981 he became a corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and full member of the Academy in 1997. In 1971 he was awarded the State Prize of the USSR and the Lenin Prize in 1984.

Since 1983 he was editor of Plasma Physics Reports (Fizika Plasmy). From the death of Boris Kadomtsev to his death, he served as the editor of the Reviews of Plasma Physics collection.

Selected work On magnetohydrodynamical equilibrium configurations, Soviet Physics JETP, vol. 6, 1983, p. 1013. Plasma Equilibrium in a Magnetic Field, in Leontovich, M. A. (Ed.): Reviews of Plasma Physics, vol. 2, 1963. Electromagnetic waves in a plasma, in Leontovich: Reviews of Plasma Physics, vol. 3, 1963. V. S. Mukhovatov: Plasma equilibrium in a Tokamak, Nuclear Fusion, vol. 11, 1971, p. 605. Determination of the parameters and in a tokamak for arbitrary shape of plasma pinch cross-section, Plasma Physics, vol. 13, 1971, 757. L E Zakharov, V D Shafranov. Equilibrium of a toroidal plasma with noncircular cross-section, Sov. Phys. Tech. Phys. vol. 18, 1973, 151–156. L. E. Zakharov, V. D. Shafranov. Evolution of equilibrium of toroidal plasma, in B. Kadomtsev, Plasma Physics, Advances in Science and Technology in the USSR Physics Series, MIR Moscow 1981. L. E. Zakharov, V. D. Shafranov. Equilibrium of current carrying plasmas in toroidal configurations, in M. A. Leontovich Reviews of Plasma Physics, vol. 11, Consultants Bureau, New York 1986. V. D. Shafranov. Magnetohydrodynamic theory of plasma equilibrium and stability in stellarators: a survey of results, Physics of Fluids, vol. 26, 1983, S. 357. V. D. Pustovitov in B. Kadomtsev: Reviews of Plasma Physics, vol. 15, 1989, 163.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Known for
Grad–Shafranov equation, Kruskal–Shafranov instability
Education
MSU Faculty of Physics
Employers
National Research Centre Kurchatov Institute, Advances in Physical Sciences
Awards
USSR State Prize; Hannes Alfvén Prize; Lenin Prize
Also known as
Vitaly Dmitriyevich Shafranov, Vitaly Dmitrievich Shafranov

People in Vitaly Shafranov's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Vitaly Shafranov's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Vitaly Shafranov?

Soviet plasma physicist

When was Vitaly Shafranov born?

Vitaly Shafranov was born on 1 December 1929 in Mordvinovo, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

When did Vitaly Shafranov die?

Vitaly Shafranov died on 9 June 2014 in Moscow.

What was Vitaly Shafranov's occupation?

Vitaly Shafranov was a physicist and nuclear physicist.

What was Vitaly Shafranov known for?

Vitaly Shafranov was known for Grad–Shafranov equation and Kruskal–Shafranov instability.

What nationality was Vitaly Shafranov?

Vitaly Shafranov was Russian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Vitaly Shafranov

· Wikidata: Q2586417

· DBpedia: Vitaly Shafranov

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Vitaly Shafranov. https://biography.guide/vitaly-shafranov/

MLA: "Vitaly Shafranov." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/vitaly-shafranov/.

Chicago: "Vitaly Shafranov." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/vitaly-shafranov/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:25 UTC