Rusakov O.M. was born on October13, 1936, in Kyiv. In 1959 he graduated from the Geological faculty of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv State University and received the qualification of engineer - geologist-geophysicist. In1959 - 1962 he worked in the field team of the South-Kazakhstan geophysical expedition in the Trans – Illi Alatau Mountains (magnetic and electrical prospecting, metalometry).
Rusakov O.M. finished postgraduate studies from the Institute of Geophysics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1965. In a year he received his Candidate of Sciences degree in geology and mineralogy. The thesis topic is “Some problems of the history of the Earth’s magnetic field in the Mesozoic”. Since 1965 until the present Rusakov O.M. works at the Institute of Geophysics consequently occupying posts of junior scientific worker
(1965-1967), senior scientific worker (1967-1977), head of the Laboratory of marine geophysics (1977-1995), leading scientific worker (1995-2003), and chief scientific worker (since 2003-up to now).
In 1985-1988 and 1991-1993 he occupied the post of Head of Laboratory of geophysics at the Soviet - Guinean Scientific Centre in Conakry, Republic of Guinea.
Rusakov O.M. is awarded the title of senior scientific worker in geophysics (1971).
He received his doctor of sciences degree in geology and mineralogy in 1990 for the thesis “Tectonosphere of the Indian Ocean from gravity modelling”. Rusakov O.M. prepared 5 candidates of sciences. At one of the last meetings Higher Attestation Commission under the USSR Counsel of Ministers (April 3, 1992) awarded him the title of professor in geophysics.
As a visiting scientist Rusakov O.M. was engaged in research studies at the Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, (Great Britain), Columbian University, New York, (USA), National Geophysical Institute, Hyderabad (India). He repeatedly took part in the scientific expeditions of research vessels to the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific Oceans and Black Sea.
Rusakov O.M. received the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology (2001) for the scientific work “Palaeomagnetic studies in Ukraine: theory, methodology and translating in practice a new direction in Earth sciences”
His list of publications includes 9 monographs and 150 papers in Ukrainian and international journals. He has
H-index of 10 from Web of Science.