Francis Halzen, principal investigator of IceCube, has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. (Courtesy: NAS)

Francis Halzen wins the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”.

The prize will be awarded in Stockholm, Sweden on 10 December and is worth SEK 12 million (about $1.2 million).

Born in Belgium, Halzen is based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the US. Nearly four decades ago Halzen realized that the ice at the South Pole could be used to detect cosmic neutrinos. The first attempt was called AMANDA, which was completed in 2000 but not large enough to be up to the task. It was expanded to create IceCube by the end of 2010.

IceCube comprises thousands of light detectors in a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice. Occasionally a neutrino will interact with the ice and create particles that generate light as they travel through the ice.…