WKU Professor Honored By
Thermal Analysis Group
June 08, 2004
Bowling Green, Ky. - Dr. Wei-Ping Pan, director of the Institute for Combustion Science and Environmental Technology and the Sumpter Professor of Chemistry at Western Kentucky University, has been chosen to receive the 2004 Outstanding Service Award by the North American Thermal Analysis Society (NATAS).
The award will be presented Oct. 5 at the annual NATAS Conference in Williamsburg, Va. This award recognizes outstanding service to the NATAS, consisting of an accumulation of significant contributions and dedicated service to the Society.
Dr. Pan established the Thermal Analysis Laboratory at Western Kentucky University in 1987. The laboratory has evolved into one of the best-equipped thermal analysis laboratories in the United States and has developed into an internationally recognized facility.
The lab is used as an instructional lab for physical and materials chemistry courses, as a research facility for 10-15 students each year, and has provided analytical services to more than 230 companies, universities and agencies in 30 states. Analytical results for more than 2,500 samples have been provided to these agencies and to WKU researchers. Samples analyzed include everything from meat to explosive materials, but mostly fuel and polymer samples.
The Thermal Analysis Laboratory has provided part-time employment to 30 undergraduate students and 25 graduate students. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Pan's group has presented more than 40 papers at the NATAS annual conferences.
For the past 12 years, Dr. Pan has organized at least two thermal analysis short courses each year, one with a national/international focus at the NATAS meeting and one of a regional nature at Western Kentucky University. More than 50 participants per year come from all over North America to attend these two-day short courses.
He also has organized other thermal analysis symposia, including the 2nd International Symposium on Micro-Thermal Analysis at WKU, which featured talks by invited speakers and poster presentations by his students.
Dr. Pan was awarded a NATAS Fellowship in 1997. The fellowship acknowledges and honors individuals who have records of distinguished scientific achievement, significant technology accomplishments, and outstanding scholarship and service in the field of thermal analysis.
For more information, contact Dr. Wei-Ping Pan at (270) 780-2532. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
