This work started the modern day clock comparison searches for time variation of the fundamental constants.
Prestage is also an active IEEE member in the International Frequency Control Symposium where he served as Technical Program Chair for 2000 and 2001.
He has been awarded over 20 NASA New Technology Awards, 3 patents, a NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal (2004 Citation: "Linear Ion Trap Frequency Standards with Ultra-high Stability Suitable for Space and Ground Applications") and the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Ground Breaker Award (2015), all in the field of ion-trap atomic clocks.
In 2009, he was awarded the highest IEEE prize in clock science and technology, the I. I. Rabi Award for 'Seminal work on the time variation of the fundamental constants and outstanding contributions to trapped ion clocks'.
He was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society for 'developing fundamental physics tests of local Lorentz invariance and local position invariance, and for pioneering ion clock technology that has enabled stabilities exceeding those of the hydrogen maser'.