Hubertus Bloemer

1939 - 2011

Hubertus “Hugh” L. Bloemer, 71, associate professor emeritus of geography at Ohio University, died March 10, 2011.

Bloemer was born on November 15, 1939 in Dinklage, a small town in Northern Germany. In 1960, he moved from Germany to Cincinnati, Ohio, to live with an aunt and uncle. There, he completed his high school equivalency while working as a metal worker, using the skills he had learned as a young man in Germany. In 1962, he entered the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1966 with a B.A. in geography. Bloemer began graduate work at Kent State University and obtained an M.A. in geography in 1968. After beginning work on a doctorate he accepted a position as Instructor of Geography at Ohio University. Upon receiving his degree from The Union Institute in 1977, he was promoted to assistant professor and then to associate professor in 1984. In 1989-90 he served as a Fulbright Professor of geography at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya.

From 1971 until his retirement in 2009, Bloemer was Director of the Ohio University Cartographic Center. He served as chair of the Department of Geography from 1993 to 1998. He was a member of the Faculty Senate for a total of fourteen years, culminating his service as Chair of the Senate from 2001 to 2004.

Bloemer’s research interests and numerous publications were in the fields of high mountain remote sensing, cartography, environmental applications of remote sensing, and the development and application of geographic information systems for developing economies. In recent years his association with the High Mountain Remote Sensing Cartography research group took him to many parts of the world, including Tibet, Kazakhstan, and eastern Africa, where he completed three ascents of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Hubertus L. Bloemer (Necrology). 2011. AAG Newsletter 46(5): 22.

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