On 6 October 2026, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. The prize went to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin–Madison for his decisive contribution to the creation of the IceCube Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
Halzen, a Belgian physicist who became a U.S. citizen, proposed as early as 1988 using the pure ice of the South Pole to detect neutrinos. These particles, often called "ghostly," barely interact with matter and carry information about the most energetic processes in the Universe.
The idea came to fruition in the IceCube Observatory — a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice equipped with thousands of light sensors. Construction was completed in 2011, and the first reliable signals of high-energy neutrinos from space were recorded in 2013–2015.
Neutrinos allow us to peer where the light of ordinary telescopes cannot reach: behind dust clouds, to the active nuclei of galaxies and the surroundings of black holes. "They open a door to distant galaxies and tell us about the processes of exploding stars," noted Nobel Committee member Eva Olsson.
Halzen led an international collaboration of more than 450 scientists from 58 institutions in 14 countries. "His perseverance and scientific vision paved the way for a new kind of astronomy," emphasized committee chairman Mark Pearce.
The laureate himself, learning of the award by telephone from Italy, admitted that he was surprised: "When we started the project, everyone understood that the idea might be a good one, but very few believed it would work, including myself."
This year's prize became the fifth associated with neutrinos, and the first since 1992 awarded to a single scientist. What this says about the future of neutrino astronomy is a question that now stands especially sharply.
Halzen's discovery did not simply add a new line to the history of physics. It provided a tool capable of changing our understanding of the most powerful phenomena of the cosmos.
