Belgian American particle physicist, Francis Halzen, aged 82, has been declared the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics in Stockholm on Tuesday. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences acknowledged Halzen for his significant contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the identification of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. The observatory, situated at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, became operational in 2011 and covers an entire cubic kilometer.
The Nobel Physics Prize winners are chosen annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and are awarded a total prize sum of 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.7 million Cdn). Halzen’s vision for capturing neutrinos at the South Pole, presented in 1988, was highlighted by the academy. The detection of neutrinos colliding with atomic nuclei, resulting in flashes of light trackable by sensors in the clear glacial ice, was a pivotal development.
Affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison for several decades, Halzen expressed his delight and surprise at the announcement while attending a conference in Italy. Neutrinos, minuscule cosmic particles with an incredibly small mass, are omnipresent and emanate from celestial bodies like the sun, with trillions passing through our bodies every second. These elusive particles are studied by measuring their interactions with other matter, which produce light flashes or charged particles.
Halzen’s research focused on a unique group of neutrinos considered cosmic messengers, providing insights into the evolution of the universe. The academy had previously acknowledged the discovery of neutrino oscillations in 2015, with Canadian scientist Dr. Neil McDonald sharing the Nobel Physics Prize that year. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be revealed on Wednesday, with the literature prize following on Thursday and the peace prize on Friday. The economics prize announcement is scheduled for October 12.
Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist and entrepreneur who established the Nobel Prize, directed in his will that his estate should fund prizes for those who have made the most significant contributions to humanity in the preceding year. The laureates are presented with their Nobel prizes on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.
