Andrés Ruzo is a geoscientist, conservationist, author, science communicator, and educator, who became the first scientist who was granted permission to study the Boiling River of the Amazon in 2011.
He has received multiple National Geographic Young Explorer Grants since 2010. Trust for Public Land website, Andrés Ruzo He is married, and his wife also works as his field partner.
A tri-citizen, Ruzo grew up between Peru, Nicaragua, and the United States, all countries where he now has active projects. He holds degrees in geology and finance from Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX), where he is currently finishing a Ph.D. in geophysics.
Ruzo is also the founder and director of the Boiling River Project, a non-profit dedicated to understanding and protecting the sacred Boiling River of the Amazon (i.e., the Shanay-Timpishka Geothermal System) by bringing together modern science, conservation economics, and traditional Amazonian knowledge.National Geographic website, This Mythical River in Peru is Boiling and one Young Scientist is on a Quest to Protect it, article by Kelley McMillan dated February 18, 2016 Forbes website, Legendary Boiling River of the Amazon is a Geological Anomaly, article by Trevor Nace dated February 27, 2016
Ruzo has been a National Geographic Explorer since 2010, receiving multiple grants for his projects in Perú. He has been featured on various NatGeo outlets, including the magazine, channel, and digital media. National Geographic website, Explorers section, Andrés A Ruzo He was the Partnership Ambassador for the LEGO-NatGeo Partnership (which was released in summer 2017), Brick Fanatics website, LEGO City and Nat Geo team up to promote Jungle subtheme, article by Graham E. Hancock dated June 27, 2017 He has served as a National Geographic Ambassador, visiting over 340 schools to educate students and teachers, and has keynoted over 300 NatGeo events. He has also hosted the award-winning National Geographic Latin America show Misterios del Inframundo (Mysteries of the Underworld).
Ruzo has been a TED Main Stage Speaker and TED Book Author. TED website, Andrés Ruzo He has received various awards and recognitions from industry associations and conservation groups, including the Geothermal Resources Council, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and Greenpeace. Southern Methodist University website, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences website, Graduate students section, Andrés Ruzo
In 2022, Ruzo was named to The Explorers Club EC50, a recognition of fifty people "changing the world, the world needs to know about." He has led educational expeditions, including the inaugural The Explorers Club Teaching Fellowship expedition to the Boiling River in 2025.
Ruzo's scientific work, with over 50 collaborators from multiple disciplines and institutions, focuses on heat flow, geophysics, volcanology, geothermal system geochemistry, and geothermal extremophile life forms. His research contributions include co-authoring the SMU Geothermal Laboratory's heat flow map of the conterminous United States, a project supported by Google.org, which has been widely cited in geothermal resource assessments. His interdisciplinary research also extends to conservation biology, including published work on wildlife protection in the Amazon. His research has garnered over 300 citations in academic literature. Through his outreach efforts, including his TED talk which has received over 2.4 million views, Ruzo has introduced the Boiling River to an estimated 800 million people worldwide.
Works
References
External links
National Geographic explorers' page (Andrés A. Ruzo) Boiling River of The Amazon