Dr. Keith Ingold, whose numerous honours include the 1988 Linus Pauling Award, was the 2016 recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Sir Derek Barton Gold Medal, in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the understanding of free-radical chemistry. When Dr. Ingold began his research at the NRC in the 1950s, the chemistry of intermediaries, such as free radicals, was largely unknown. Dr. Ingold and his colleagues made outstanding contributions to international science by quantifying free-radical chemistry, enabling him to apply his findings in new ways that have had considerable impact on the petroleum and plastics industries. Developments in automotive oils, for example, can be attributed to his early research. Best known for his work on the application of the chemistry of free radicals in living organisms—specifically the human body—his investigations into the role of oxidation in the aging process have pioneered the understanding of the role of Vitamin E as an antioxidant in medicine and health.