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Ronald Baecker (born October 7, 1942) is an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science and Bell Chair in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Toronto (UofT),[1] and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University.[2] He was the co-founder of the Dynamic Graphics Project (DGP),[3] and the founder of the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI)[4] and the Technologies for Aging Gracefully Lab (TAGlab) at UofT.[5][6] He was the founder of Canada's research network on collaboration technologies (NECTAR),[7] a founding researcher of AGE-WELL,[8] Canada's Technology and Agine research network, the founder of Springer Nature's Synthesis Lectures on Technology and Health,[9] and the founder of computers-society.org.[10] He also started five software companies between 1976 and 2015.[11] He is currently an ACM Distinguished Speaker.[11]
He is the author of Ethical Tech Startup Guide (Springer Nature, 2023),[12] author of Digital Dreams Have Become Nightmares: What We Must Do (2021),[13] co-author of The COVID-19 Solutions Guide (2020),[14] and author of Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives (Oxford University Press, 2019).[15] His other books are Readings in Human Computer Interaction: Toward the Year 2000 (Morgan Kaufmann, 1995),[16]Readings in Groupware and Computer Supported Cooperative Work: Software to Facilitate Human-Human Collaboration (Elsevier, 1993),[17]Human Factors and Typography for More Readable Programs (Addison-Wesley, 1990)[18] and Readings in Human Computer Interaction: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Elsevier, 1987).[19]
Educationedit
Baecker received a B.Sc. in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1963, an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1964, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from MIT in 1969.
Summary of research interestsedit
Baecker is an expert in human-computer interaction (HCI), user interface (UI) design, software visualization, multimedia, computer-supported cooperative work and learning, entrepreneurship in the software industry, and the design of technologies for aging gracefully.[20][failed verification]
Honors and awardsedit
ACM Distinguished Speaker, 1 March 2022 - 28 February 2025.[21]
Social Impact Award from the ACM Special Interest Group on Computers and Human Interaction (SIGCHI), 2020.[22]
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association of Computer Science/Association d’informatique Canadienne, the national organization of Canadian Computer Science Departments/Schools/Faculties, May 2015.[23]
Given the 3rd Canadian Digital Media Pioneer Award, GRAND Network of Centres of Excellence, May 2013.[24]
^Ledger, Brent (8 December 2011). "Technologies for Aging Gracefully". University of Toronto Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
^"TAGlab | Technologies for Aging Gracefully". Retrieved 2023-05-15.
^"NECTAR to quench thirst for collaborative solutions | IT Business". www.itbusiness.ca. 2004-10-12. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
^"Dr. Ronald Baecker". AGE-WELL: Canada's Technology and Aging Network.
^"Synthesis Lectures on Technology and Health". Springer. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
^"Computers and Society". Computers and Society. 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
^ ab"Ronald Michael Baecker". speakers.acm.org. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
^Baecker, Ron (2023). Ethical Tech Startup Guide. Synthesis Lectures on Professionalism and Career Advancement for Scientists and Engineers. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-18780-3. ISBN 978-3-031-18779-7. S2CID 258177860.
^"Digital Dreams Have Become Nightmares: What We Must Do (2021)". Ronald Baecker. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
^Baecker, Ronald M. (2019). "Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives". Oxford Academic. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198827085.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-882708-5. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
^"Readings in Human-Computer Interaction Toward the Year 2000". Elsevier.
^"Readings in Groupware and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: Assisting Human-Human Collaboration". Elsevier.
^Baecker, Ronald M. (1990). Human factors and typography for more readable programs. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 9780201107456.
^Baecker, Ronald M.; Buxton, W. (1987-01-01). "Readings in human-computer interaction: A multidisciplinary approach". Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. OSTI 5039704.
^Ron Baecker. "Ph.D., Computer Science, Department of Electrical Engineering, M.I.T 1969". University of Toronto, Toronto.
^Baecker, Ronald M. "A Call to Action". cacm.acm.org. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
^"Professor Emeritus Ron Baecker honoured with 2020 SIGCHI Social Impact Award". Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto. April 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
^"Lifetime Achievement Award: Ronald M. Baecker | CACS/AIC - Canadian Association of Computer Science". cacsaic.org. Retrieved 2015-11-24.[dead link]
^"Ron Baecker | GRAND NCE". grand-nce.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-11-24.