| David Hiram Baker | |
| Birth Date: | 26 February 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Waterman, Illinois |
| Death Place: | Urbana, Illinois |
| Fields: | nutrition |
| Workplaces: | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Alma Mater: | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Thesis Year: | 1965 |
| Doctoral Advisor: | D.E. (Gene) Becker |
| Known For: | Animal nutrition |
| Awards: | Elected to the National Academy of Sciences[1] |
| Spouse: | Norraine Baker |
David Hiram Baker (February 26, 1939 - December 2, 2009) was an American animal nutritionist who was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2005.[2] Baker is professor emeritus of animal sciences and nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[3]
In 1987, he received the National Academy of Sciences' Distinguished Service Award.[4] In 2007, he was awarded the Charles A. Black Award by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST).[5]
Baker earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1965; his thesis was titled Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of the Amino Acid Needs of Adult Swine for Maintenance.[6] He then spent two years as a senior scientist with the Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, then returned to join the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty in the Department of Animal Sciences and Division of Nutritional Sciences, where he remained for the rest of his career.
Baker published 510 peer-reviewed papers, mainly in non-ruminant nutrition (i.e., swine and poultry nutrition), with research and teaching emphases on nutritional principles involving amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients.