Keith Ingold has made many fundamental contributions to free radical chemistry. His work has provided much of the foundation for the conversion of various industrial arts to exact and quantitative sciences. His approach has been characterised by simple but ingenious experiments and an insistence on quantitative measurements. For elucidating the mechanism by which phenols and amines inhibit autoxidation he won the 1968 American Chemical Society Award in Petroleum Chemistry. His subsequent work has been mainly concerned with uninhibited autoxidations, the mechanism of radical–radical reactions and, most recently, the formation of novel types of long-lived free radicals. He has published one book and over 150 scientific papers.
Awards
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Royal Medal
In recognition of his work in elucidating the mechanism of reactions involving free radicals. His ingenuity in devising key tests and in developing the necessary experimental tools for the determination of reaction pathways of peroxy and other organic compounds has greatly clarified the nature of processes such as the autoxidation of hydrocarbons.
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Davy Medal
For pioneering the quantitative study of free radical reactions in solution, in glasses and in living organisms, particularly using electron magnetic resonance.
