Professor Rutland was involved in ·the revolution in structural geology which took place in the. 1950' s. Since coming to Australia in 1966, his research has been dominated by his interest in the application of structural geology to problems of tectonics and metallogenesis. He has promoted mult-disciplinary research and established a Centre for Precambrian Research at the University of Adelaide. He is currently a member of the various national and international committees including the Australian Research Grants Committee and the Commission on Tectonics of the International Union of Geological Sciences.
He is widely published and is well known internationally. As director of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, he manages both applied and fundamental research programmes.