---
type: "post"
id: "francis-halzen-icecube-principal-investigator-wins-2026-physics-824661"
slug: "francis-halzen-icecube-principal-investigator-wins-2026-physics-824661"
title: "Francis Halzen, IceCube principal investigator, wins 2026 Physics Nobel Prize"
description: "IceCube says that Francis Halzen, its principal investigator and a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics."
retrieval_nugget: "IceCube says that Francis Halzen, its principal investigator and a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics."
published_at: "2026-10-23"
updated_at: "2026-10-23"
record_date: "2026-10-23"
date_kind: "published_at"
topics: ["ai"]
entities: ["Francis Halzen","IceCube Neutrino Observatory","University of Wisconsin–Madison","Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences","IceCube Upgrade","IceCube-Gen2"]
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what_changed: "Same event as Нобелевку по физике дали за ловлю космических частиц во льдах Антарктиды Премию 2026 года получил Фрэнсис Хальцен — за ключевую роль в создании обсерватории IceCube и открытии нейтрино высоких энергий из космоса."
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source_url: "https://icecube.wisc.edu/news/awards/2026/10/francis-halzen-icecube-principal-investigator-wins-2026-physics-nobel-prize"
source_urls: ["https://icecube.wisc.edu/news/awards/2026/10/francis-halzen-icecube-principal-investigator-wins-2026-physics-nobel-prize"]
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status: "published"
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---

# Francis Halzen, IceCube principal investigator, wins 2026 Physics Nobel Prize

## Retrieval answer

IceCube says that Francis Halzen, its principal investigator and a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics.

IceCube says that Francis Halzen, its principal investigator and a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor, received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. The observatory says the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited him for decisive contributions to IceCube and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

According to the announcement, IceCube instruments one cubic kilometer of glacial ice at the South Pole. Its collaboration comprises more than 450 scientists at 58 institutions in 14 countries. IceCube reported the astrophysical high-energy neutrino flux in 2013; it later reported evidence of neutrino emission from TXS 0506+056 and NGC 1068, and announced neutrinos from the Milky Way in 2023.

The IceCube Upgrade was installed during 2025–2026 to lower the detector’s energy threshold and improve ice calibration. The collaboration expects first science data from that upgrade later in 2026. IceCube-Gen2 remains proposed; the source describes an optical array eight times larger by volume and radio detection for higher-energy neutrinos.

The announcement does not provide Nobel committee materials, technical performance results from the upgrade, or a confirmed construction decision for IceCube-Gen2.

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