John Mathew was a Presbyterian minister who developed an interest in Aboriginal ethnography after migrating from Scotland to work on his uncle's farm in Queensland in 1864. From 1879 he published influential studies of Aboriginal culture. Although Mathew's speculative argument for the tri-hybrid origins of the Australian Aborigines has long been disproved, his discussion of Aboriginal language and social behaviour was pioneering in the field of anthropology and is still well-regarded today. Two Representative Tribes of Queensland (1910) is the result of the extensive time Mathew spent visiting the Kabi and Wakka people living in the Barambah Government Aboriginal Station. This direct experience is emphasised in the preface to the book: 'For Mr Mathew Australian origins ... have been a life study, and the knowledge bearing upon these questions, which most others have gleaned from the library shelves, he has acquired at first-hand in the native camping grounds.'

Describing novel methods and catalytic strategies to conserve and maintain air, water, and soil quality, researchers from a range of disciplines discuss the role of interface science in environmental remediation. They detail approaches to separate, reuse, recover, and treat potentially valuable materials using techniques in ion exchange and adsorption; develop and design new catalysts to enhance production, energy, and cost efficiency; and evaluate and improve existing treatment strategies for recycling of plastics and wastes. The 17 studies were developed from presentations at the symposium Application of Interface Science to Environmental Pollution Control (Chicago, August 2001).