Richard S. Gates is a chemical engineer and leader of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Nanomechanical Properties Group. During his 37 years at NIST, he has enjoyed working on many varied projects including recycled oil, boundary lubrication, tribochemistry, hard-disk lubrication, microfabrication, and atomic-force microscopy measurements and standards. Gates grew up in the Bahamas and traded in coconut oil and conch fritters for lubricating oil and Maryland crab cakes to pursue his passion for science at NIST.