Dr. John D. Teufel, a 1995 Parkland High School graduate and physicist with the Department of Commerce at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Physical Measurement Laboratory, was recently named by former President Barack Obama as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers.

“I was nominated by my institution for my work with superconducting circuits,” Teufel told The Press. “I am an experimental physicist who conducts research on superconducting circuits for advanced sensing and computing applications.”

Teufel, the son of John and Natalie Teufel, of Schnecksville, learned about winning the PECASE award in a congratulatory email he received Jan. 9 from the Executive Office of the President.

He has not yet received his award as the ceremony will take place later this year at the White House.

According to the White House “The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers [is] the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.”

Established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the awards are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President.”

Teufel, who has been employed by the NIST in Boulder Colo., since 2012, graduated with a Ph.D. in physics from Yale University in 2008.

“This is one of the highest honors a federal scientist can receive, so I am certainly humbled and grateful for the award,” Teufel said.

Teufel graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in physics, mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Toledo and a Master’s of Science degree in physics in 2001 from Yale University.

His first job after college was as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado.

Teufel and his wife, Rachel, are the parents of a son, Tyler, 9. The family lives in Colorado.