Professor Emeritus Ron Baecker has been honoured with the 2020 SIGCHI Social Impact Award. This award is given to individuals who promote the application of human-computer interaction (HCI) research to pressing social needs.

Baecker's Technologies for Aging Gracefully Lab (TAGLab) has been at the forefront of the design of aids and experiences for both supporting independence and combating isolation as people age. His research spans an exceptional breadth of applications in this space, including systems for health information sharing, memory support, safety, and communication and connectivity, among others.

Baecker has been a leading innovator in HCI over the course of his illustrious career, and the Department of Computer Science celebrates this well-deserved recognition of the social impact of his research.