Associate Professor R. J. Hunter is distinguished for his scholarship and scientific leadership in Australian and international colloid and surface science. His research has been in four central areas of the science of aqueous interfaces: the electrical double layer at solid-aqueous interfaces, the properties of aqueous electrolyte solutions, the transport behaviour of colloids and the rheology of model and technologically important colloidal dispersions. His leadership is attested by his 1981 monograph on "The Zeta potential in colloid science" and by his textbook "Foundations of colloid science": Both texts display his unique grasp of pure and applied surface science.