RUSK COUNTY, Wis. (WTAQ) - A native of northwest Wisconsin has been honored for creating one of the top high-tech products of the year.

49-year-old Thomas Deering King, formerly of Rusk County, was given the Research-and-Development-100 award by R-and-D Magazine. Deering King is a Web developer for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

He was recognized for an advancement in the making of super-conductors. It’s called “Solution Deposition Planarization.” Vladimir Matias was the main scientist for the project.

Deering King grew up near Chetek (sheh-teck’), and he later graduated from U-W Superior. His father, Joseph Deering, still lives in Eau Claire. He told the Leader-Telegram that his family used to leave Thomas alone at a farmhouse and he removed the door-knobs and locks from every door just to see how they worked.

The elder Deering said some of the screws got lost some of the doors on the farm were never locked again.