The U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has garnered three of R&D Magazine's prestigious R&D 100 Awards this year, including for a technology that allows researchers to test water for virtually every heavy metal with potential to negatively affect people and the environment.

R&D Magazine selected the lab in Richland to receive three of the awards for the 100 most innovative scientific and technical breakthroughs of the past year. The selections for 2007 bring PNNL's tally to 74 R&D 100 awards since the contest began in 1963.

The lab's work was recognized for a device that manages heat and water in fuel processors and fuel cell systems; for software that extracts and analyzes data in the most useful format for users; and for a technology that improves detection of toxic heavy metals in water. PNNL employs 4,200, has a $750 million annual budget and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965.