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The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded solely to Francis Halzen for pioneering IceCube, the giant neutrino observatory embedded deep in Antarctic ice. His concept turns a cubic kilometre of transparent ice into a detector containing 5,160 light sensors that capture faint Cherenkov radiation produced when rare high-energy neutrinos interact with matter. These “ghost particles” travel almost unaffected from distant cosmic sources, allowing scientists to trace violent events such as blazars, active galaxies and supermassive black holes. Halzen’s work establishes neutrino astronomy as a powerful new way of observing the universe.
Tuesday, 6 October, 2026