Who is Francis Halzen?
In short
Francis Halzen is a Belgian-American particle physicist and the 2026 Nobel Prize winner in Physics. He is in the news today because he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work developing the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.
Who they are now
He is the Hilldale and Gregory Breit Distinguished Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also serves as the Director of the Institute for Elementary Particle Physics and the Principal Investigator of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
Why they are in the news
People are searching for him because he has just won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research into high-energy neutrinos, often called 'ghost particles'.
An example of their work
He led the creation of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. This massive detector in Antarctica allows scientists to capture neutrinos from deep space.