About

About Dr. Bob Blair

Bob was born in Beith, Scotland, in 1933, and attended Beith Academy and Spier’s School. He was attracted to the Agriculture program at Glasgow University and graduated with a BSc in Agriculture (Hons Zoology) in 1956. In 1960, Bob received a PhD degree in animal nutrition from the University of Aberdeen after a programme of research at the Rowett Research Institute. In 1976 he, wife Moreen (Dip Ed, Moray House, Edinburgh; BEd, Sask) and family moved to Canada when Bob took up a position with a Canadian food and feed company before returning to academia.

Service to the feed industry included acting as Chair of the Nutrition Council of the Canadian Feed Industry Association. In addition he organized several conferences on behalf of the Canadian Society of Animal Science (CSAS), served on two US National Research Council Committees dealing with animal nutrition, and was Chair of the Organizing Committee for the Annual Conference of the Agricultural Institute of Canada and CSAS in Vancouver in 1998. He represented CSAS on the Council and Board of the World Association for Animal Production, serving as President from 1983-1998. In 1998 he was awarded a Fellowship from the Agricultural Institute of Canada for contributions to Canadian agriculture.

Over the years, Bob has travelled to many countries and has held visiting professorships at the Universities of Nairobi (Kenya), Prince Edward Island (Atlantic Veterinary College), South Pacific (Alafua campus), and California (Riverside campus). His activities and interests are wide and to date he has published over 200 papers and articles on animal and poultry nutrition. He is a member of several professional societies and served on several Canadian and on two US National Research Council Committees dealing with animal nutrition. He is a former President (1983-88) and Board member (1983-93) of the World Association for Animal Production (1988-93), and from 1991-98 served as Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier international scientific journal Animal Feed Science and Technology. He is listed in several Who’s Who publications.

Post-retirement activities have included acting as Science Editor for the Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center, China Agricultural University, Beijing, serving as an external PhD examiner and working on a History of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at UBC.

 

Career Highlights

  • PhD University of Aberdeen (Rowett Research Institute) Scotland (Animal Nutrition)
  • Principal Scientist ARC Poultry Research Centre, Roslin, Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Director of Poultry and Livestock Nutrition, Swift Canadian Company, Toronto
  • Professor of Animal Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, and Director Prairie Swine Centre
  • DSc University of Saskatchewan (Animal Nutrition Research)
  • Professor and Head, Animal Science, University of British Columbia
  • Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia

 

Book Publications