David Baker

David H. Baker served as Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences and Nutritional Sciences in the field of Agricultural and Veterinary Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he had a distinguished 40-year career. He earned his B.S. in animal science in 1961, M.S. in nutrition in 1963, and Ph.D. in nutrition in 1965 from the University of Illinois. After working as a senior scientist at Eli Lilly’s Greenfield Laboratories from 1965 to 1967, he joined the University of Illinois as an assistant professor of nutrition in 1967, advancing to associate professor in 1971 and full professor in 1974. He served as acting head of the Department of Animal Sciences from 1988 to 1990 and retired in 1999 but continued research activities. Baker taught nutrition courses to undergraduate Animal Sciences students and veterinary students, emphasizing clarity and practical application.

Baker's research specialized in comparative nutrition, focusing on amino acid metabolism and requirements in nonruminant animals such as swine, poultry, rats, mice, cats, and dogs. He pioneered the ideal protein concept for formulating swine and poultry diets, determined bioavailability values for amino acids, minerals, and vitamins in feeds, and established the essentiality of taurine in feline diets, linking its deficiency to retinal degeneration. His discoveries included the poor absorption of cupric oxide, the first antidote for iodine toxicity, and the role of arginine in urea-cycle function across species. Baker developed chemically defined diets for multiple species, enhancing livestock feed quality and animal research precision. He authored nearly 600 peer-reviewed journal articles, including key works like 'A chemically defined diet for pigs' (1966) and 'Inaugural Article: 15 vexatious questions on amino acid nutrition' (2005). His profound impact on animal nutrition earned him election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Distinguished Service Award in 1987, University Scholar designation in 1986, the Charles A. Black Award in 2007, fellowships in the American Society of Animal Science, Poultry Science Association, and American Society for Nutrition, and multiple awards from these societies.

Professional Email: dhbaker@illinois.edu