Elena Provornikova

Dr. Elena Provornikova is a research scientist with expertise in physics-based modeling and simulations of space plasmas on high-performance computing systems. Her research focuses on investigating the evolution of solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and the dynamics of the solar wind from the Sun to Earth and beyond with applications to space weather forecasting. She leads the development of the GAMERA-Helio inner heliosphere model with a propagating magnetized CME. Her broader research interests include the structure and dynamics of the heliospheric boundary regions and the physics of the local interstellar medium. Dr. Provornikova serves as deputy project scientist for the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission. She is a co-investigator on the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, where she supports data synthesis efforts by providing magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of interplanetary CMEs and solar wind evolution. She is also deputy lead of the Heliophysics Working Group for the New Horizons mission. Previously, she led the Heliosphere and Interstellar Medium Science Working Group for the Interstellar Probe mission concept study led by APL. Dr. Provornikova is also principal investigator on several research grants for NASA investigating CMEs and solar wind dynamics in the heliosphere, as well as their effects on space weather conditions at Earth.