Harley D. Rutledge (January 10, 1926 – June 5, 2006) was an American physicist and ufologist. He earned a doctorate in solid-state physics from the University of Missouri and spent nearly two decades as chair of the physics department at Southeast Missouri State University. In the 1970s Rutledge directed Project Identification, a long-term field investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena in Missouri that was reported as the first sustained scientific study of UFOs. The project involved trained observers and technical instruments, and his findings were published in the 1981 book Project Identification: The First Scientific Study of UFO Phenomena. Though widely recognized as a UFO expert and frequent media commentator, Rutledge emphasized that many sightings had conventional explanations.
Life and career
Harley D. Rutledge was born in 1926 to Earl and Irene Hoagland Rutledge in Omaha, Nebraska. The Daily Nonpareil identified him as a native of southwest Iowa. He attended high school in Red Oak, Henderson, Macedonia, and Wales-Lincoln, Iowa. He remained chair for 18 years as of 1988. He was also a longtime member of the Southeast Missouri Astronomy Club.
UFO research
The Nonpareil and other newspapers described Rutledge as "an expert, appearing on numerous television and radio interviews and delivering papers to scientific bodies around the world". He stated that many UFOs could be explained as normal aircraft or atmospheric conditions. According to the Enterprise-Courier of Missouri, he felt the term "UFO" carried "connotations of sensationalism".