Keith Baldwin was born May 25, 1928 in Buffalo, New York, later moving with his family to Michigan and residing in Lansing in 1937. He graduated from Eastern High School in Lansing in 1946 and Michigan State University in 1950, later earning a Master’s degree in Physics (1955) from University of Maine-Orono. Baldwin served in the U.S. Military, teaching at Officer Signals School, as well as training new recruits during the Korean War.

Baldwin developed an interest in radio repair and electronics in his youth before pursuing a degree in physics, which he earned from Michigan State University in 1950, in addition to a state high school teaching certificate in physics and mathematics and a M.S. in physics from University of Maine in 1955. He began his professional career at Raytheon Research Lab in Maine, establishing himself as a leader in the fields of re-entry plasma physics and microwave diagnostics, and highly qualified in electronics. He left the industry in 1963 to pursue a career in teaching at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in Houghton, Michigan. There he worked as an associate professor in physics. In addition to teaching physics coursework and senior lab, he served as faculty advisor to graduate students. In the 1970s, Baldwin became involved with the Keweenaw Research Center (KRC), working on vehicle projects and secured contracts for vehicle testing. Among his achievements were the work he did to develop laboratory physics equipment marketed to physics teachers. Baldwin retired from teaching in 1984 and created his own company, KMB/Tech, which partnered with the university.