FRANCIS HALZEN WINS NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS FOR NEUTRINO WORK

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen for his work on the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the detection of high-energy neutrinos originating from outer space. Halzen, who was born in Belgium, is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which leads the IceCube project. Mark Pearce, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said Halzen "has led an international team of researchers and engineers who have provided us with a fantastic instrument", adding that "his tenacity and scientific vision has paved the way for a new kind of astronomy". The academy said his "vision and scientific leadership have been fundamental for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory". The prize money for this year's award is 12 million Swedish kronor, around $1.2 million.

IceCube is a research facility at the South Pole in Antarctica that uses a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice fitted with light sensors to detect neutrinos, particles that carry information about violent, high-energy processes in the cosmos. Halzen first presented his proposal for detecting neutrinos at the South Pole in 1988, with his research into the field dating back to the 1980s. Attempts to reach the 82-year-old scientist for comment were not immediately successful.

The physics prize was announced in Stockholm as part of this year's Nobel announcements, which began on Monday with the medicine prize going to three scientists for work on a tool that uses light to study the brain. The chemistry prize is due to be announced on Wednesday and the literature prize on Thursday, followed by the peace prize on Friday. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is scheduled to be announced the following Monday. Last year's physics prize went to three scientists for research on quantum tunnelling in subatomic particles.