Forrest R. Pitts

Forrest Pitts, emeritus professor of geography at the University of Hawaii, died earlier this year at his home in Santa Rosa, California.

Pitts taught for many years at the University of Oregon, University of Pittsburgh, and Seoul National University. In 1989, he retired from the University of Hawaii after 35 years of teaching and field research. His professional interests were in Asia and in computational approaches to geographic science.

After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II and studying Japanese at the Language School in Boulder, Colorado, Pitts earned a bachelor’s degree in Oriental Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan. He continued his graduate studies in Michigan to earn a master of arts degree in Far Eastern Studies and a doctorate in Geography.

Pitts’ work is marked by fieldwork in Japan, Okinawa, and Korea. He was editor of Korean Studies, and served eight years as executive director of the International Geographical Union Commission on Quantitative Methods.