IceCube Neutrino Observatory lead Francis Halzen wins Nobel Prize in Physics

Francis Halzen, a Belgian-born physicist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his idea of using South Pole ice to detect neutrinos. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory — a cubic kilometre of ice fitted with light sensors — captures particles arriving from distant regions of the universe.

• Halzen first proposed a South Pole neutrino detector in the late 1980s
• IceCube is a cubic kilometre of ice equipped with light sensors
• Neutrinos are tracked via light flashes when they hit atomic nuclei
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize