GRAND (Graphics, Animation, and New Media), a federally-funded research network and commercialization engine, has awarded DCS' Ron Baecker with the 2013 Digital Media Pioneer Award.
The Canadian Digital Media Pioneer award has been given out since 2011 (the inaugural recipient was DCS alumnus Bill Buxton), honouring Canadians who have made significant contributions to the advancement of digital media. Each year GRAND acknowledges one or more outstanding artists, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers and/or scholars at their AGM, and Ron is a 2013 recipient.
Ron's award citation notes, "Ronald Baecker is a visionary and a Canadian Digital Media Pioneer... he has been a guiding force in keeping Canada at the forefront of important research areas as they emerge: computer animation, human-computer interaction (HCI), computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), and most recently the confluence of digital media and patient-centred healthcare, especially for the elderly. His influence in these and many other areas is in large part due to the organizations he has helped establish, which have nurtured successive generations of Canadian digital media researchers and practitioners." The citation also says, in closing, "Ron has inspired multiple generations of Canadian digital media researchers. The projects and organizations he has initiated are lasting testaments to his vision. His intellectual children and grandchildren have secured a global presence for Canada in the field of digital media. It is for these outstanding accomplishments that Ronald Baecker is recognized as a Canadian Digital Media Pioneer."
Congratulations, Ron, on this distinguished award!
See the full award citation on the GRAND website.