Public Lecture

Kenneth Libbrecht, Caltech The Secret Life of a Snowflake: An Up-Close Look at the Science and the Splendor of Nature's Frozen Art Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 7:00pm How do snowflakes form? What creates their complex, symmetrical and strikingly beautiful shapes? Is it true that no two are exactly alike? Kenneth Libbrecht, chairman of the Physics Department at Caltech, will reveal the secrets of snowflakes through spectacular photographs of these miniature ice sculptures. He will teach you about the science underlying their intriguing structures and share why the lowly snowflake is an excellent case study for investigating the molecular dynamics of crystal growth. You will come to understand why snowflakes look the way they do and how their complex and symmetrical patterns emerge. You will be able to answer those difficult questions children ask about falling snowflakes. Tickets available on Monday, January 16

Speaker Biography

Kenneth Libbrecht knows perhaps more than anyone should about the science of snowflakes. He had his first exposure to the subject during many cold winters growing up on a farm outside of Fargo, North Dakota. Being a typical science nerd in high school, Libbrecht eventually made his way to Caltech, where he graduated in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in physics. After earning his PhD from Princeton University, Libbrecht returned to Caltech in 1984 as a professor of physics, and he remains there to this day. He married Rachel Wing in 1987 and they have two children.

In the mid 1990's, Libbrecht's interest in the molecular dynamics of crystal growth led him back to his roots and into to a detailed study of how ice crystals grow from water vapor, which is essentially the physics of snowflakes. This ongoing endeavor seeks to better understand how crystals grow and how complex patterns emerge in the process. Libbrecht also furthered the art of snow crystal photography and has taken over 10,000 pictures of all different types of snowflakes. His books display many beautiful photographs and describe how these diminutive ice sculptures manage to appear, quite literally, out of thin air. In 2006, the U.S. Post Office created a set of commemorative first-class postage stamps featuring Libbrecht's snowflake photographs.
More news and views about snowflakes can be found at Libbrecht's web site -- www.SnowCrystals.com

Public Lecture

Lawrence M. Krauss, Arizona State University Cosmic Connections Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 7:00pm In this PI Public Lecture, Lawrence M. Krauss, Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University will show how each of us is connected to the cosmos in ways we’d never imagine. From the stardust we’re made of, to the atoms we breathe, to the curving of space time that governs the way we make our way through traffic jams, to time travel itself. Tickets available on Tuesday, February 21

Speaker Biography

Lawrence M. Krauss is a renowned cosmologist and science popularizer, and is Foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, and director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University. Hailed by Scientific American as a rare public intellectual, he is also the author of more than three hundred scientific publications and nine books, including the international bestseller, The Physics of Star Trek, and his most recent bestseller entitled A Universe from Nothing. He received his PhD from MIT in 1982 and then joined the Society of Fellows at Harvard, and was a professor at Yale University and Chair of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University before taking his present position. Internationally known for his work in theoretical physics, he is the winner of numerous international awards, and is the only physicist to have received major awards from all three US physics societies, the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Krauss is also a commentator and essayist for newspapers such as The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and has written regular columns for New Scientist and Scientific American and appears regularly on radio and television. He is one of the few scientists to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, and is also active in issues of science and society. He serves as co-chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and on the Board of Directors of the Federation of American Scientists.