Francis Halzen Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics for IceCube Neutrino Observatory Work

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Tuesday awarded the Nobel Prize in physics to Francis Halzen.

He received the award for this "decisive contributions to the IceCube neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin," the academy said.

The committee described the neutrinos as "ghostly messages from space."

It is the second Nobel announced this week, after the medicine prize was awarded to three scientists whose on optogenetics has helped unravel how the brain works.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million; €1 million), whether for an individual, a small group of laureates or an organization.

The physics prize has been awarded 119 times to 230 laureates between 1901 and 2025.

Last year, it went to three scientists for their research on the strange behavior of subatomic particles called quantum tunneling that enabled the ultra-sensitive measurements achieved by MRI machines and laid the groundwork for better cellphones and faster computers.