Ron Baecker is professor of computer science, Bell Chair in human-computer interaction, and founder of the Knowledge Media Design Institute at the University of Toronto. His work on picture-driven animation and the Genesys system helped launch the field of interactive computer animation. His film Sorting out Sorting began the field of algorithm animation. Ideas from the highly interactive Newswhole pagination system (developed by student David Tilbrook) foreshadowed desktop publishing and introduced the widely-adopted idea of an iconic cursor. He was one of the pioneers of CSCW and CSCL (computer-supported cooperative learning), especially in collaborative writing and in multi-modal collaboration at a distance. His co-edited books on HCI and CSCW brought together important papers and significant original overview material, and have been widely used in HCI education. His book on typography for programming (co-authored with Aaron Marcus) set new standards for the field.