Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 awarded to Francis Halzen for IceCube neutrino discovery

Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 awarded to Francis Halzen for IceCube neutrino discovery

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2026 was awarded on 6 October 2026 to Francis Halzen, a Belgian-born professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 'for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin,' the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. Halzen's idea to use glacial ice at the South Pole to capture neutrinos resulted in the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which tracks neutrinos originating far outside the solar system and has opened an entirely new type of astronomy. The physics announcement followed Monday's medicine Nobel for the discovery of optogenetics, and the chemistry prize follows on 7 October.