Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 awarded to Francis Halzen for ice neutrino discovery
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 awarded to Francis Halzen for ice neutrino discovery")
Francis Halzen was born in Tienen, Belgium, in the year 1944. He did his PhD from KU Leuven, Belgium, in 1969.
Francis Halzen has been awarded the Nobel Prize for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday.
A tweet from the Nobel Prize handle on X said, “The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2026 #NobelPrize in Physics to Francis Halzen for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.”
“Francis Halzen has led an international team of researchers and engineers who have provided us with a fantastic instrument. His tenacity and scientific vision paved the way for a new kind of astronomy,” said Mark Pearce, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, in a news release.
The Belgium-born 82-year-old scientist Francis Halzen is the principal investigator of IceCube, Vilas Research Professor and Gregory Breit Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US, besides studying problems that span the particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology communities.
In 1987, Halzen started working on the AMANDA experiment, a first-generation neutrino telescope at the South Pole that represented a proof of concept for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
Halzen realised that ice at the South Pole could be used to track particles known as neutrinos. Neutrinos are everywhere, but they do not make themselves known. They pass all the way through the Earth and through our bodies without us noticing. Halzen’s vision and scientific leadership have been fundamental for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory – a cubic kilometre of ice that is equipped with light sensors. Using IceCube, researchers can capture neutrinos from extremely energy-rich processes in the distant universe.
Halzen also serves on advisory committees for the SNO, Telescope Array, and the Auger upgrade experiments, the Max Planck Institutes in Heidelberg and Munich; the ICRR of the University of Tokyo; the US Particle Physics Prioritization Panel; and the ApPEC particle astrophysics advisory panel in Europe.
The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, a small group of laureates or an organisation.
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Last year, three scientists won the Nobel Prize in physics for research on the strange behaviour of subatomic particles called quantum tunnelling that enabled the ultra-sensitive measurements achieved by MRI machines and laid the groundwork for better cellphones and faster computers.
The announcements of the 2026 prizes began Monday, with the Nobel Prize in Medicine being awarded to three scientists whose work led to a tool that uses light to help unravel how the brain works.
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday, followed by the prize for Literature on Thursday. Nobel for Peace will be announced on Friday, while the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Monday.
