Francis Halzen wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for breakthrough neutrino discoveries

Belgian-born physicist Francis Halzen has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos originating from astrophysical sources.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Halzen as this year’s physics laureate on Tuesday, recognizing work that has opened a new way of observing some of the most extreme phenomena in the universe.

Halzen, 82, is a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and played a leading role in developing IceCube, a giant neutrino detector buried deep beneath the ice at the South Pole.

Neutrinos are extremely small particles that can travel enormous distances through space and matter with very little interaction. Detecting high-energy neutrinos from space allows scientists to investigate cosmic events that cannot always be studied using ordinary light.

The IceCube project has helped identify high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin, giving researchers a powerful new tool for studying black holes, exploding stars and other energetic processes in the universe.

Halzen will receive the Nobel Prize medal and a share of the 12 million Swedish kronor prize, worth about $1.2 million.

The physics announcement is the second award of Nobel Prize week 2026, following Monday’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced next.