California (Web Desk) — Belgian-born American scientist Francis Halzen has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his outstanding contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos originating from astronomical sources.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award in Stockholm. According to Mark Pearce, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics, Francis Halzen led an international team of researchers and engineers in developing an extraordinary scientific instrument. He said Halzen’s perseverance and scientific insight had laid the foundation for a new branch of astronomy.
The 82-year-old Francis Halzen is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States. Speaking to the Nobel Committee by telephone, he said the announcement came as a major surprise and that he had not expected it.
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a research facility located at the South Pole in Antarctica and is led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Halzen has been involved in research to detect neutrinos at the South Pole since the 1980s.
Neutrinos are fundamental particles with extremely low mass that exist throughout the universe. Trillions of neutrinos emitted by stars such as the Sun pass through the human body every second, yet they cannot be observed directly. Scientists detect them by recording the light or charged particles produced when these particles interact with matter.
Francis Halzen researched rare neutrinos that carry information from distant regions of the universe. His work has significantly contributed to understanding the evolution of the universe and high-energy astronomical phenomena.
The prize money for this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics is approximately $1.2 million.