Earlier this month, Quantum Physics and Optics Lab director Dr. John Dell received one of the 83 Yale Educator Awards awarded this year. Two Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) teachers received the award this year, and five were awarded in Virginia.

To receive this award, high school teachers are nominated by matriculating students at Yale University. In this case, Class of 2014 graduate Ivy Ren nominated Dell for this prestigious award. This year, over 300 teachers and counselors were nominated.

Dell is very honored to be a recipient of this award and is happy that teachers are receiving this recognition.

“We all like to feel that we have made a difference that our students appreciate. After all, most of us took up and have continued teaching for this very reason,” Dell said. “External validation matters, but what matters most to me personally is that I did right by Ivy and that someone cares that this was done.”

Dell has previously received similar recognition from other prestigious schools, including Harvey Mudd, Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).