Curriculum Vitae
David Ruff was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, USA in 1960. Ruff received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1982. Following graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy, and volunteered for the nuclear submarine force. In 1988 he earned Master of Science degrees in Engineering Acoustics and in Systems Technology (Antisubmarine Warfare) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His 25 year Naval career included service aboard four submarines, including command of USS LOUISIANA (SSBN 743). He retired as a Captain in 2007.
Following his career in uniform, he worked for AREVA NP, Inc. as the Principal Project Manager for a new nuclear power plant design, and he was the Vice President and General Manager of Sayres and Associates, a small defense contracting firm. He entered the Nautical Archaeology Program in the Anthropology Department at Texas A&M University in September 2011 and defended his doctoral thesis in February 2020. His dissertation, 'A Roman Ship Scuttled near Salona in the Gulf of Kaštela, Croatia: Excavation, Reconstruction and Analysis,' is based on the 2015 excavation of a Roman ship in the Trstenik section of Kaštel Sućurac, which Ruff co-directed with Dr. Irena Radić Rossi of the University of Zadar, Croatia.
Ruff's research interests include ancient ship design and construction, Mediterranean trade in antiquity, and the spread of shipbuilding technology in the Adriatic Sea. He is also interested in remote sensing technology and its capability to locate ancient wrecks. Ruff is a Research Associate with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, and he has worked with the RPM Nautical Foundation on their Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program off the coast of Albania. He was a team member of the AdriaS project - Archeology of Adriatic Shipbuilding and Seafaring, funded by the Croatian Science Foundation.
Leadership and participation in the projects
2012 - today Team Member, The Shipwreck of Gnalić – Mirror of Renaissance World, University of Zadar, Croatia
2015 – 2019 Team Member, Archaeology of Adriatic Shipbuilding and Seafaring (AdriaS), HRZZ IP-2014-09-8211
2019 Director, Albania Ancient Ship Survey, R/V Hercules (RPM Nautical), Durrës, Albania.
2018 Co-Director, Albania Ancient Ship Survey, ARV Virazon II (Institute of Nautical Archaeology), Albania. Other Co-Director: Dr. Staci Willis
2017 Team Member, Illyrian Coastal Exploration Program, R/V Hercules (RPM Nautical), Vlore, Albania.
2017 Team Member, Bay of Caska Liburnian Sewn Boat Excavation, Island of Pag, Croatia.
Publications
Ruff, D., Radić Rossi, I., Pulak, C., Liphschitz, N., “A Roman Ship Scuttled near Salona in the Gulf of Kaštela, Croatia,” Proceedings of the 15th International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology, forthcoming.
Ruff, D., “The Romans and Trade,” book review, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, vol 47, #1, March 2018, 236-237.
Ruff, D., “An Ancient Laced Boat in the Shadow of a Senatorial Estate,” INA Quaterly; Bringing history to life through the science of shipwrecks 44.1/2, 2017, 18-23.
Ruff, D., Radić Rossi, I., „Excavating an Early Roman Imperial ship at Trstenik in the Gulf of Kaštela, Croatia“ The INA Quaterly ; Bringing history to life through the science of shipwrecks 42.4, 2015, 10-17.