Francis Halzen receives the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the observation of cosmic neutrinos

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday to Belgian-born American researcher Francis Halzen for his decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and for the discovery of high-energy neutrinos originating from astrophysical sources.

The distinction marks a first in more than three decades: it is the first time since 1992 that the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to a single researcher. At that time, the laureate was Frenchman Georges Charpak, who was recognized for developing particle detectors.

Neutrinos are difficult-to-detect particles that can travel through space without changing direction or losing energy. Studying them provides information about natural particle accelerators in the Universe and cosmic phenomena inaccessible through other methods.

Born in Belgium in 1944, Francis Halzen earned his doctorate in 1969 and is a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1988, he proposed detecting neutrinos in the ice at the South Pole. The IceCube Observatory, with a volume of one cubic kilometer, was completed in 2011 and subsequently identified neutrinos originating from regions beyond the Solar System.