Dr. Ransom Leland "Lee" Baldwin V

DAVIS, Calif. - Dr. Ransom Leland "Lee" Baldwin V passed away Friday, Nov. 30, 2007.

Professor Baldwin, a member of the prestigious United States National Academy of Sciences is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Ellen (Burns) Baldwin; his sister, Margie Myers of Meriden; his brother, David Baldwin; three adult children, Cheryl Choate, Randy Baldwin, and Robert Baldwin; additionally, he is survived by six grandchildren, Bobby and Andy Choate, Leland, Rebecca and Sean Baldwin, and Nicholas Baldwin; as well as five nieces.
Lee Baldwin was born Sept. 21, 1935 in Meriden, Lee was the eldest of three children raised on the family dairy farm on Bee St. by Ransom and Edna Baldwin. He met his wife Mary Ellen, also from Meriden, upon graduation from High School and together they raised their three children in Davis, California. He was a gentle, unassuming, and loving father with a voracious appetite for science fiction, 49'ers football, and bragging about his children and grandchildren. As a father he coached all of his children in baseball or softball, and took the whole family camping often. He liked deep sea fishing and went often in search of salmon and tuna. Lee's education started in Meriden where he attended Trumbull School, Jefferson Junior High School, and Meriden High School for his primary education and from which he graduated in 1953. He attended the University of Connecticut where he earned a B.S. in Animal Industries (1957) and subsequently earned his M.S. in Dairy Nutrition, and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Nutrition (1963) at Michigan State University. While attending MSU he was a National Science Foundation Fellow from 1957 to 1961. He served on the faculty at the University of California at Davis from 1963 and attained the rank of professor in 1970. From 1992 to 2000 he served as Sesnon Professor of Animal Science. Dr. Baldwin retired in April, 2001 from the Department of Animal Science at the University of California at Davis following a 44 year career. His academic accomplishments, publications, and research activities in the fields of dairy science, endocrinology, nutritional research and energetics, ruminant digestion and metabolism, and other areas related to animal science resulted in numerous awards and honors. During his career he was the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (1968), the American Feed Manufacturers Award for outstanding research in nutrition (1970), the Borden Award, he was a Fulbright Fellow (1983), he has been recognized by the University of Connecticut as a Distinguished Alumnus (1990). He was elected as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Dairy Science Association (1997), and the American Society of Nutritional Sciences (2001). In 1999 he was inducted into the Meriden, CT Hall of Fame for his contributions to Science and Medicine. In 1993, Dr. Baldwin was recognized for his career accomplishments by election into the National Academy of Sciences and he served actively for the Academy on numerous committees even into retirement. Professor Baldwin published more than 234 works in refereed journals, books, and book chapters. A Review of his 1995 book "Modeling Ruminant Digestion and Metabolism" stated: "It is rare for one person to have so pervasive an influence on a field of service as Dr. Baldwin has had on mathematical modeling of metabolism in farm animals. He created the field". Yet another reviewer wrote: "the 1970s to 1990s have been the "Baldwinian era" of energy metabolism for farm animals. He is generally acknowledged to be the father of animal modeling."

He was a passionate educator with an exceptional gift for challenging his students to integrate knowledge from different disciplines. He trained several faculty members, 35 Ph.D. students and numerous MS students where Lee was uniquely able to foster a family environment among his graduate students, visiting scientists, and postdoctoral fellows. His students have largely been successful in their chosen field of study and thus his impact on animal science in general is continuing to expand.

In lieu of flowers, Professor Baldwin's family would like to encourage donation to the Department of Animal Science at the University of California at Davis where a scholarship fund will be established and administered to further aid in the education and development of graduate students in the areas of animal systems modeling and the study of ruminant nutrition and metabolism in support of lactation and growth. Checks should be made payable to the Regents of the University of California and sent to: Dr. Mary Delany, Chair UCD Animal Science Department, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616.