BILLERICA, MA-Manufacturer of handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers and other scientific instruments Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has announced that its handheld line of Niton XL3t Series XRF analyzers has been recognized with a Good Design Award by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum.

The awards are conferred annually by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design together with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. The 2008 awards were judged in New York and Los Angeles in November by an international jury of design professionals, architects, experts and cultural leaders.

According to the Museum, the award publicly acknowledges and elevates the best and finest new design and design innovation for products and graphics designed and/or manufactured between 2006 and 2008. This year’s 500 winners from 34 different nations represented the world’s leading Fortune 500 companies.

“Our primary goal of helping users save time and improve their productivity with fast, reliable and repeatable results would not be possible without an ergonomically designed instrument, created with human and environmental factors in mind,” says Jon Shein, Thermo Fisher’s director of global marketing for the Niton analyzers business unit. “From the inside out, these instruments were designed to make our customers more successful.”