About the author

Kenneth G. Libbrecht is a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). A North Dakota native, Ken studies the molecular dynamics of crystal growth, including how ice crystals grow from water vapor, which is essentially the physics of snowflakes. He has authored several books on this topic, including The Snowflake: Winter’s Frozen Artistry, The Secret Life of a Snowflake, The Art of the Snowflake , and Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes . He can be reached at kgl@caltech.edu .