Science
Physics Nobel for Francis Halzen, Who Turned a Cubic Kilometre of Antarctic Ice Into a Neutrino Telescope
STOCKHOLM: The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Francis Halzen, the Belgian-born physicist who led the building of a neutrino detector inside the ice at the South Pole, "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 the prize on October 6. Halzen, 82, is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the principal investigator of IceCube. He receives the full prize of 12 million Swedish kronor, about $1.2 million.
"Francis Halzen has led an international team of researchers and engineers who have provided us with a fantastic instrument. His tenacity and scientific vision has paved the way for a new kind of astronomy," said Mark Pearce, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, France 24 reported.
The academy reached Halzen by telephone in Bergamo, Italy, where he was taking part…
