Francis Halzen, pioneer of Arctic ice telescope, receives Nobel Prize

Francis Halzen receives the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery

of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

The Belgian-American physicist pioneered the concept of turning a cubic

kilometre of pristine Arctic ice into a particle detector, telescope of sorts.

The research ultimately led to the construction of the

IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole.

The observatory, with its giant telescope, is able to detect

high-energy cosmic neutrinos originating outside

of our galaxy, which has helped advanced research into the universe.

The prize-awarding body, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences,

will be presenting Halzen with a 1.2-million-US-dollar prize.