Lowell L. Wilson was born in Illinois and participated in 4-H and FFA activities. He served from 1954 to 1957 in the U.S. Army. He earned a BS in agricultural education with a minor in biology at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and earned a M.S. and a Ph.D. at South Dakota State University, where he majored in animal breeding and minored in statistics. At Purdue University from 1964 to 1966, Wilson had primary responsibility for cow-calf systems. He is credited with founding the Indiana Cattlemen's Association, and was cited for achievements in 1966. He was instrumental in initiating electronic processing of beef performance records in Indiana and South Dakota. In 1966 he moved to Pennsylvania State University, where his research ranged across a broad front, including breed evaluation, pasture and waste utilization, veal production, and public/producer assessment of production methods. He has authored or co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, 550 producer-oriented articles, and several book chapters. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses and supervised over 45 M.S. and Ph.D. candidates. He was instrumental in formation and conduct of the Pennsylvania Cattlemen's Association and Pennsylvania Beef Council, Pennsylvanians for the Responsible Use of Animals, Penn States' Students for the Responsible Use of Animals, Pennsylvania Beef Expo and numerous educational events. Lowell L. Wilson's curiosity, imagination, industriousness, and dedication to animal agriculture are attested to by his ability to identify and focus on significant problems and to effectively enlist the efforts of others.