Dr. Wei-Ping Pan, (center) director of WKU's Institute for Combustion Science and Environmental Technology, received the prestigious Mettler Award this week from the North American Thermal Analysis Society. The award is the NATAS' highest honor and recognizes distinguished achievement in the field of thermal analysis, including but not restricted to thermogravimetry, differential thermal methods, and effluent gas analysis. Pictured with Dr. Pan are Thomas Kehl, Global Manager for Thermal Analysis at Mettler-Toledo, Inc. Analytical Instruments; and Dr. Steven Sauerbrunn, technical manager for Mettler-Toledo, Inc. Analytical Instruments. The award was presented during the 36th annual NATAS conference Aug. 16-20 in Atlanta. The Mettler Award is the third major honor Dr. Pan has received from NATAS. He was named a NATAS Fellow in 1997 and received the Distinguished Service Award in 2004. He also served as the group's president-elect in 2000 and president in 2001.