Baecker, Ron

Ronald Baecker at the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT) in Cambridge, England, August 27-31, 1990.

Ron Baecker (1942 – ) is a prolific researcher and educator whose long career has produced innovations in a wide spectrum of fields, from computer graphics to responsibility and ethics in human-computer interactions to the development of using an icon for a cursor. He holds two patents in the display of computer-generated objects and has produced more than 100 books, articles, and instructional videos in addition to educating dozens of innovators in the field of HCI. His new book is Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives (OUP, 2019).

His recent work includes founding the Technologies for Ageing Gracefully Lab, which seeks to develop “mental prostheses” to assist older adults and support autonomy through carefully-designed interfaces and software structures. Baecker was elected to the SIGCHI Academy in 2005, made a Fellow of the ACM in 2011, and given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association of Computer Science in 2015.

 

“Ron productively bridged the graphics and HCI communities, promoting animation and other strategies to convey insights, such as in his famed video comparing sorting algorithms.  Later in his career, Ron admirably studied older adults and users with disabilities.  Ron worked hard and has a long history of inspiring University of Toronto students and many of the rest of us.” – Ben Shneiderman

Baecker and Miriam Bareket at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Toronto, Canada on April 5, 1987.

Baecker and Joanna McGrenere at the ACM Conference on Universal Usability in Arlington, VA, November 15–17, 2000.

Ron Baecker at HCII 2003 in Crete, Greece, June 22-27, 2003.

Baecker and Joe Konstan at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Portland, OR on April 5, 2005.

Baecker working in his office at the University of Toronto in Canada in October 2006.

Baecker in his office at the University of Toronto in Canada in October 2006.

Ron Baecker and Ron Baecker at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Toronto, Canada on April 26, 2014.

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Education:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, MIT (1969)
• Work in Advanced Mathematics, University of Heidelberg (1964 – 1965)
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering, MIT (1964)
• B.S. in Physics, MIT (1963)

Affiliations:

• Founder and Director, Technologies for Aging Gracefully Lab (2008 – Present), Principal Researcher, Technology Research Center (1990 – Present), Professor of Computer Science (1972 – Present), University of Toronto
• Affiliate Scientist, Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto (2004 – Present)
• Bell University Laboratories Chair in Human-Computer Interaction (2002 – 2011)
• Founder and Chief Scientist, Knowledge Media Design Institute (1999 – Present)
• Founder and CEO, Expresto Software Corp. (May 1998 – October 2002)
• Director, Dynamic Graphics Project, Computer Systems Research Institute (1985–Present & 1972–1981)
• Chairman of the Board, Human Computing Resources Corporation (1977 – 1990)
• Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland (1971 – 1972)
• Commissioned Officer, US Public Health Service, Division of Computer Research and Technology, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1969 – 1971)

Links:

• TAGlab
• University of Toronto
• Wikipedia
• Election to ACM CHI Academy 2005