Earl Hammond was born in Terrell, Texas, in 1926. He received his B.S. (1948) from the University of Texas in chemistry and his M.A. (1950) in biochemistry and Ph.D. (1953) in agricultural biochemistry from the University of Minnesota.



Hammond began his professional career at Iowa State University as an Assistant Professor (1953-1959) in the Department of Dairy Industry. He was promoted to Associate Professor (1959-1966), Professor (1966-2003), and Department Head (1985-1990) of the Department of Food Science.



Hammond holds patents for making cheeses, reduced linolenic acids and elevated palmitic acid production in soybeans. He had over 170 articles published in scientific research journals. His research focused on the history of science and agriculture, determination and control of hog confinement odor, cheese flavor, glyceride structure determination, and lipid oxidation.



During his career, Hammond was a member of Sigma Xi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, and Gamma Sigma Delta. He received the Pfizer Award (1980) from the American Dairy Science Association and an Honorary Medal (1986) from the University of Agriculture and Technology, Olsztyn, Poland. He has been a member of the American Chemical Society, American Dairy Science Association, and the Iowa Academy of Sciences.



Hammond married Johnie Wright Hammond and they had four children: Linda, Bruce, Pamela, and Christopher. Johnie served on the Story County Board of Supervisors, as well as serving in the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate.