Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr: Curiosity, and Where It Took Me

As the opening keynote for our fall scholarly series, The Curious Mind: Exploration and Discovery, join us for an evening with Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr., Scientist, Philanthropist, Explorer, National Security Expert and Inventor. Rudy will share the role curiosity has played in his career that has had him at the forefront of national security affairs, high-speed computing and international strategic relations. Through curiosity and a love of lifelong learning, Rudy will share how asking the question, Is it stimulating, rewarding and worthy? has taken him to the ends of the earth.

Rudy currently serves as Adjunct Professor and Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees of the J. Craig Venter Institute. Throughout his career, Rudy has been posted and worked in multiple countries, including China, Iran, Algeria and Australia during more than 40 years working in national security and intelligence services. He was elected a Fellow Member of the Explorers Club in 1980. His expeditions have included travel to the North Pole, the Antarctic, tropical rainforests and an 8,500-foot dive in a Russian deep submersible to study mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vent field biodiversity. Further, he has flown MIGs in Russia and lectured at the U.S. Army War College. He was a Senior Associate Physicist in IBM’s Research Labs and a Strategic Planner at IBM’s Corporate Headquarters. He served as President at the Hudson Institute and has received numerous awards, and academic honors. Rudy served in the U.S. Army, Combat Engineers.

Rudy has lived in Ridgefield for over 50 years.

This program is part of the Library's scholarly series, The Curious Mind: Exploration and Discovery, made possible by the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.

Please register below.