Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin

Updated 2026-10-12 · told from many outlets at once

Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering work on neutrino detection at the South Pole, using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.

• Francis Halzen received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, where he discovered high-energy astrophysical neutrinos using Antarctic ice.
• Halzen realized in the 1980s that Antarctic ice could capture neutrinos and first presented his idea in 1988.
• The IceCube Neutrino Observatory spans one cubic kilometer at the South Pole.
• Neutrinos are elementary particles with no electric charge and almost no mass, interacting only via the weak nuclear force.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics comes with 12 million Swedish kronor, about one million Euros.
• Ten billion neutrinos pass through every square meter of Earth's surface each second.
• The prize justification highlights Halzen's contribution to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
• The Physics prize has been awarded 119 times through 2025.
• The IceCube Neutrino Observatory project concluded in 2011.
• The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis.
• The Nobel Committee described neutrinos as the most discreet particle in the Universe.
• The Nobel Prize ceremony will take place in Stockholm on December 10.
• Mark Pearce, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics, praised Halzen's vision and called neutrinos 'ghost messengers'.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics was the first category mentioned in Alfred Nobel's will.
• Nobel laureates receive a diploma, medals, and a financial award.

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