The February 2012 AAG Newsletter has this news: http://www.aag.org/galleries/newsletter-files/34045_0140_PPPlowrez_FEB_2012.pdf

During his four-decades-long career, Unwin has contributed immensely to the shaping of some of the major theoretical and methodological debates in the discipline. His record of service, administrative leadership and outreach reflects the impact he has had on geography,and his catholic set of interests in geographic topics attest to the characterization of him as, not a physical or human geographer ? just a geographer.

Unwin has made transformative contributions in the area of spatial statistics and spatial analysis. His work was an influential part of the early wave of quantitative methods in geography, and his involvement as editor and author in the seminal CATMOG series, in addition to his 1981 book, Introductory Spatial Analysis, helped to educate, engage, and inspire a generation of geographers. In recent decades, Unwin has expanded the scope of his engagement and influence to GIScience and visualization.

Unwin has demonstrated an enduring passion for geography education. A recurring theme of his academic life has been the complementarity of teaching and research?the need to couple lecture and theory with practical experience in applying the tools and methodologies of geography. As a founding member of the editorial board and editor for the Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Unwin helped to both shape thinking about geography education beyond K-12, and to establish the journal as a major international voice on the topic.

For his pioneering work in advancing the boundaries of spatial analysis and GIScience, and enhancing higher educationin Geography, the AAG is pleased to confer Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors upon David Unwin.