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DONALD G. BAKER is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Soil, Water & Climate at the University of Minnesota, where he has both studied and served for over half a century. It was there that he received his B.S. in Agriculture in 1949, his M.S. in Soils in 1951, and his Ph. D. in Soils with a minor in Geology in 1958. Immediately upon obtaining his last degree, he joined the faculty of the Department of Soil Science as an Instructor, where he moved up the ranks to Assistant Professor in 1961, Associate Professor in 1965, Professor in 1969, and emeritus status following his retirement in 1995.
Prior to his association with the University of Minnesota, Dr. Baker successfully completed the U.S. Army Air Force's Meteorology "B" Program at the University of Wisconsin and its Meteorology "A" Program at the University of Chicago. As a result of the skills he developed in these special programs, he served as a Combat Forecaster in Korea in 1951-1952, where he earned the USAF Bronze Star.
Dr. Baker is both member and fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He additionally belongs to the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, the Royal Meteorological Society of London, and the Soil Science Society of America. In 1986 he received the Special Service Award of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Weather Service; and in 1973 he was named Honorary State Farmer of the Minnesota Chapter of the Future Farmers of America.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Baker has published many scientific articles, including an unprecedented multi-decade series describing the "Climate of Minnesota." He has also guided many students to their M.S. and Ph.D. degrees who have gone on to pursue productive careers of their own. All of them acknowledge the pivotal role he played in preparing them for the work and fun of science.