STOCKHOLM: Belgian-American physicist Francis Halzen won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday, Oct. 6, for pioneering work that turned Antarctic ice into a giant cosmic detector, allowing scientists to track elusive high-energy neutrinos and learn how some of the universe’s most powerful events unfold.
Often called “ghost particles,” neutrinos can pass through Earth and human bodies almost unnoticed because they rarely interact with matter. Halzen realized that the enormous volume of ice beneath the South Pole could be used to detect these fleeting particles, leading to the creation of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.
“The messengers bring information from the cosmos,” Eva Olsson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at a news conference. “They open the door to distant galaxies and tell us about the processes of exploding stars.”
The IceCube observatory has detected neutrino interactions that are helping scientists understand where high-energy neutrinos come from and how they are produced. The discoveries could also provide clues to previously unknown cosmic phenomena, the academy said.
Halzen led an international team of scientists and engineers behind the observatory, which has opened a new way of studying the universe. “His tenacity and scientific vision has paved the way for a new kind of astronomy,” Mark Pearce, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said in a statement.
Halzen’s work earned him the nickname “Neutrino Man.” In 2014, Smithsonian magazine honored him with an Ingenuity Award for the experiment, calling it an achievement that marked the beginning of a new era in astronomy. The magazine also published a comic about his scientific journey and his pursuit of cosmic discoveries in Antarctica.
This year’s prize carries 12 million Swedish crowns, and about $1.2 million, which is divided among the winners when there is more than one recipient. The Nobel Prizes were established through the will of Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel, whose fortune was built partly through his invention of dynamite.
The awards were first presented in 1901 and recognize achievements in science, literature and peace. An economics prize was added later by Sweden’s central bank. Physics has remained one of the most prestigious Nobel categories, honoring discoveries that have transformed humanity’s understanding of nature and the universe.
Past winners include some of the most influential scientists in history, such as Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, Max Planck and Niels Bohr. Last year’s physics prize went to U.S.-based scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis for experiments demonstrating quantum physics in action.
Their work was seen as contributing to advances in next-generation computing and digital technologies. The physics award was the second Nobel Prize announced this year, following Monday’s medicine prize. The chemistry prize is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Nobel medals will be presented by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf at a ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. The awards will be followed by a banquet at Stockholm City Hall. The Nobel Peace Prize is presented separately in Oslo, Norway.
