TOPEM is a new temperature modulated DSC technique, introduced by Mettler-Toledo in late 2005, in which stochastic temperaturemodulations are superimposed on the underlying rate of a conventional DSC scan. These modulations consist of temperaturepulses, of fixed magnitude and alternating sign, with random durations within limits specified by the user. The resulting heat flow signal is analysed by a parameter estimation method which yields a so-called ‘quasi-static’ specific heat capacity and a ‘dynamic’ specific heat capacity over a range of frequencies. In a single scan it is thus possible to distinguish frequency-dependent phenomenafrom frequency-independent phenomena. Its application to the glass transition is examined here.