Todd Ruff

Director, NIOSH , NIOSH Spokane Mining Research Division

Todd Ruff is the Director of the Spokane Mining Research Division at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). He is an electrical engineer with over 30 years of experience conducting machine safety research in the mining and construction industries. He received a Bachelor degree in electrical engineering in 1988 and a Master degree in electrical engineering in 1993, both from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Todd started working at the US Bureau of Mines (USBM), Spokane Research Center, in 1987 as a student intern and accepted a research position after graduating to study mining automation and remote sensing technology. After being transferred to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Mining Health and Safety Office, he focused on machine safety research for both mining and construction. In 2011, Todd left federal service to work for a startup company called Safemine Technology as the North American business development manager for mine traffic safety technology. After Safemine was purchased by Hexagon Mining in 2014, Todd transferred to a position as Product Manager for safety systems display and networking technologies. In 2016, Todd returned to NIOSH as the Associate Director for Science at the newly formed Spokane Mining Research Division. And in 2017 Todd was promoted to his current position of division director, overseeing mining health and safety research in the western United States.