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Four members of the Queen’s community — a pioneer in the field of human–computer interaction, a leading publisher and champion of Canadian writers, a Prince Edward Island history scholar, and a leader in the market research and public opinion industry — have been appointed to the

William Buxton, Mus’73, LLD’09, Patrick Gordon Crean, Arts'71, Edward MacDonald, MA’80, PhD’84, and Nikita (Nik) Nanos, Artsci’88, MBA’10, are among the 78 recipients announced by Governor General Mary Simon, LLD’94, on Dec. 28.

Here is a look at the Queen’s alumni recipients:

•    William Buxton, Mus’73, LLD’09, is a computer scientist and designer and considered a pioneer in the field of human–computer interaction. He has worked for Microsoft Research and as an associate professor at the University of Toronto. He pioneered multi-touch interfaces and music composition tools in the late 1970s. Buxton has been a regular columnist at BusinessWeek magazine. Before joining Microsoft Research, he was chief scientist at Alias Wavefront and SGI from 1994 to 2002.

•    Patrick Gordon Crean, Arts'71, has spent nearly 50 years in Canada's publishing industry as an editor and publisher. His authors include some of Canada's most prominent voices and have been nominated for numerous major awards, including two nominations for the Man Booker Prize. His work has focused on publishing original voices, literary fiction, culture and technology, philosophy, history, and memoir and he has his own imprint at HarperCollins, Patrick Crean Editions.  

•    Edward MacDonald, MA’80, PhD’84, is a history professor at the University of Prince Edward Island and was honoured for his leadership as a historian and scholar of PEI, and for his mentorship of tomorrow’s heritage conservationists. The prolific writer and researcher has written, edited, or co-edited 11 books as well as over 50 scholarly articles. He also spent 15 years working at the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation.

•    Nikita (Nik) Nanos, Artsci’88, MBA’10, is a Canadian public opinion expert. He is the Executive Chairman of Nanos Research, a leading company he established in 1987. His firm, part of the Nanos Research Group, comprises Signal Leadership Communications and Nanos-dimap Analytika, collaborating with top German research organization, dimap. In addition to his entrepreneurial role, Nanos chairs Atlantik Bruecke Canada, dedicated to fostering positive German-Canadian relations. He holds positions such as Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, chair of the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy Advisory Board, and serves on the board of directors of Char Technology, a cleantech company focused on decarbonization for a circular economy.

“Our alumni are making an impact in their communities, in our country and around the world as they strive to help create a better tomorrow," says Queen’s Vice-Principal (Advancement) Karen Bertrand, Artsci'94. “I want to thank the Order of Canada recipients for their decades of work and making a tangible difference in the lives of others.”

The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honours and was established in 1967. Queen’s alumnus and Member of Parliament, John Matheson, Arts’40, LLD’80, was a driving force in its development. He said the Tricolour Society at Queen’s served as a model for the Order of Canada.