Perspectives on spatial data analysis

This volume is inspired by the many contributions of Arthur Getis to the field of spatial analysis. In 2004, Arthur Getis formally retired as the Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation Chair of Geographical Studies in the Department of Geography at San Diego State University. That transition to emeritus status marked the end of a magnificent career spanning more than four decades. It started with undergraduate education in geography at Pennsylvania State University, followed by a PhD from the University of Washington in 1961. At Washington, he was part of the generation that initiated the “quantitative revolution” in geography under the tutelage of William Garrison. His graduate cohort included, among others, Brian Berry, Waldo Tobler, Duane Marble, John Nystuen, Richard Morrill and William Bunge. His academic appointments started with a position at Michigan State University, after which he moved to Rutgers University. He went on to become head of the Geography Department at the University of Illinois in 1977, and joined San Diego State University in 1989. In addition, he held many visiting scholar appointments at leading international institutions, including Cambridge University and the University of Bristol in the UK and the University of California, Santa Barbara and Harvard University in the USA. During his career, Arthur Getis was awarded several honors and distinctions, such as the 1995 Albert Johnson Research Lecture at San Diego State University (captured in Getis, 1995c), the Walter Isard Award from the North American Regional Science Council (1997), the Robinson Lecture at The Ohio State University (1999), and the 2002 Distinguished Scholarship Award from the Association of American Geographers (AAG). In 2005, he was elected Fellow of the Regional Science Association International. He served as president of the Western Regional Science Association (1999) and of the University Consortium of Geographic Information Science (2002).