Inducted: November 28, 1990
Rudy Brown, through hard work and a quiet dedication, has gained nation-wide recognition for his work to control some of the natural problems that plague agriculture.
He has taken his data on insect and weed control to a variety of receptive audiences; and has published them in scientific papers and technical publications for the benefit of agriculture.
After attending Gore Hill Elementary School and a Mennonite secondary school, he went to the then Western Ontario Agricultural School, Ridgetown, where he graduated with the gold medal in General Proficiency.
Those two years at Ridgetown counted as a first year at the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, where Mr. Brown received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree, as well as his Master of Science.
He joined the staff of the Western Ontario Agricultural School, later renamed Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology, in 1959, and started the work that has since gained him national recognition. In l965, he became the head of the Horticulture and Biology Section, in ornamental horticulture, insect and weed control.
In his association with the Ridgetown College and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Mr. Brown has been a member of the Ontario Horticultural Crops Research Committee for Ontario, the Vegetable Research Committee and the Herbicide Committee. He has been the Ontario Representative on the Canada Weed Committee executive; Chairman of the Ontario Weed Committee, as well as of the Ontario Pest Management Research and Services Committee.
Mr. Brown has also worked on the Canada Task Force on Crop Protection of the Crop Protection Institute of Canada; and as a member of the Board of the Conrad Grebel College of the University of Waterloo.
There have been many awards recognizing his work. These have included the Meritorious Award of the Ontario Horticultural Association, the Westag Alumni Humanitarian Award and the Excellence in Weed Science Award, in 1987 from the Expert Committee on Weeds, Eastern Section, presented by Elanco, a division of the Eli Lilly Canada Ltd.
Associates said the emphasis on his accomplishments and awards should not be allowed to obscure his greatest contributions as a human being..."a people person, who likes to talk to everyone from little kids to older people...personable...and with an unfailing modesty and a deep sense of humility."