The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 physics Nobel to Francis Halzen for leading the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday to Francis Halzen for what it called decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
Halzen, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is credited with the idea that Antarctic ice could record the rare flashes produced when neutrinos interact with matter. IceCube instruments a cubic kilometre of ice at the South Pole with light sensors. The Academy said the prize is 12 million Swedish kronor.
Reuters reported that Halzen, 82 and Belgian-born, later became a US citizen. At a news conference cited by the BBC, he said few people, including himself, expected the project to work when it began, and that he had been lucky. Mark Pearce, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said Halzen's leadership had opened a new kind of astronomy.
Neutrinos pass through most matter and are difficult to detect. The Academy said IceCube's detections let researchers study how high-energy particles are produced in places ordinary telescopes cannot easily see. Earlier neutrino Nobels include the 2015 prize shared by Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald.
The physics prize is the first of this year's science Nobels. The Academy pointed readers to nobelprize.org and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for further detail. No challenge to the award had been reported by Tuesday afternoon.
People Sentiments Positive
- Halzen told a news conference he was surprised the idea worked so well and called himself lucky.
- Mark Pearce said Halzen's tenacity had paved the way for a new kind of astronomy.