MIT Class of 1963, Class
Notes for September 2005 issue
of Technology Review
Here's an update on the current activities of our classmate *Ron Baecker* that I gleaned from his web site, http://kmdi.utoronto.ca/rmb/. Ron is currently a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto where he holds the Bell Universities Laboratories Chair in Human-Computer Interaction, and was the founder and Chief Scientist of the Knowledge Media Design Institute at the university. He is the principal investigator of the Canada-wide Network for Effective Collaboration Technologies through Advanced Research. Ron has been named one of the 60 Pioneers of Computer Graphics and in April 2005 was elected to the CHI Academy by ACM SIGCHI, and in May 2005 was given the Canadian Human Computer Communications Society Achievement Award. The CHI Academy is an honorary group of individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of human-computer interaction. Ron is an active researcher, lecturer, and consultant on human-computer interaction and user interface design, user support, software visualization, multimedia, computer-supported cooperative work and learning, the Internet, entrepreneurship and strategic planning in the software industry, and the role of information technology in business. He has published over 100 papers and articles on topics in these areas, is the author or co-author of two published videotapes and four books, and holds 2 patents has another patent pending. Before returning to academia Ron was the founder, CEO, and Chairman of HCR Corporation, a Toronto-based UNIX contract R&D and technology development and marketing firm, sold in 1990 to a U.S. competitor. He was also the founder of Expresto Software Corp, a firm specializing in structured visual communication explaining software and other complex technology. Expresto Software was sold in 2002 to Caseware International.
Our other class hero this month is *Mike Bertin*, who I can always count on for SOMETHING to put in this space, even if he has to brag about his grandchildren, talk about his astronomy hobby or his travels, or even make something up. Why just yesterday, Mike had lunch and a pleasant conversation with *Steve Evans* at the monthly Orange County alumni luncheon. Steve and Mike are regular attendees. Mike reported that after a 7-year hiatus the Baker House Piano Drop returned to the MIT Campus to remind students to drop their classes before it's too late. On April 21 students watched in awe as the 700-pound piano fells 7 stories to its demise. This event truly redefines the meaning of "Drop Date." And back in April Mike had a visit from his old roommate, *Frank Model*. Frank, who these days is retired and living in Amherst, MA, visited his son Dan, who lives in Santa Cruz, CA, and went on a camping trip to Death Valley with his daughter Karyn, who lives in Venice, CA. Mike took Frank on his special Orange/San Diego County 3 Day Tour, which included the flower fields at Carlsbad, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and dinner in the rural town of Ramona, with spartan accommodations at the Bertins' backcountry ranch in Mesa Grande. On the middle day the two ex-roommates made an excursion to Anza Borrego Desert State Park, where there was excellent wildflower, cactus, insect and bird viewing. Frank is a first class nature photographer and he got some great shots, including a rattlesnake that they saw on the hike up Palm Canyon. On the last day Frank and Mike paddled around the pond, watching the dragonflies do what they do, and the garter snakes swimming along the shores looking for tadpoles to eat. Mike is currently working on a barbed wire fence at the ranch to keep out a neighbor's cattle. They didn't teach him this skill at MIT. So what do you think? Did Mike make this stuff up, or did it really happen? Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Send news.
Regards to all. You can reach me at: Mike Bertin, 22 Gillman St, Irvine, CA 92612. E-mail: MCB1@aol.com. If you want to schmooze, call me at (949) 786-9450.