Francis Halzen wins the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for high-energy neutrino discovery

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen, a Belgian-born physicist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for his contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. The IceCube observatory, located at the South Pole in Antarctica, uses a cubic kilometre of ice to detect neutrinos that carry information about violent cosmic processes. The prize money is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million).