{"693140":{"#nid":"693140","#data":{"type":"news","title":"IceCube Founder Awarded 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFor Georgia Tech physicists, this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes decades of work that helped establish neutrino astronomy as a new way to study the universe.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrancis Halzen\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Eprincipal investigator of the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory and a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was honored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for his \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nobelprize.org\/prizes\/physics\/2026\/press-release\/\u0022\u003Edecisive contributions to IceCube and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin\u003C\/a\u003E.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cFrancis proposed building a neutrino telescope in Antarctic ice, and along with his collaborators, he proved that it is possible to detect neutrinos in this challenging environment,\u201d says\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/ignacio-taboada\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIgnacio Taboada\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the School of Physics and former spokesperson for the IceCube Collaboration. \u201cIceCube was a technological tour de force, and its success is now recognized by this Nobel Prize. The award energizes the nascent field of neutrino astronomy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/a.-nepomuk-otte\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA. Nepomuk Otte\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the School of Physics, describes the impact of IceCube\u2019s results as \u201cbreathtaking.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWhat we are witnessing is the opening of an entirely new window into the universe, providing us with a unique view of the most violent astrophysical objects and allowing us to study the elusive nature of neutrinos,\u201d says Otte. \u201cI am extremely excited about the prospects of pushing to even higher energies and deeper into the universe with the next generation of neutrino experiments planned at Georgia Tech and around the world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIceCube is a giant neutrino telescope located at the South Pole. Envisioned by Halzen in the late 1980s and completed in 2011, the instrument detects neutrinos, tiny high-energy particles that travel through the universe and rarely interact with matter. Scientists study neutrinos to better understand phenomena such as supermassive black holes and exploding stars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech has been a member of the IceCube Collaboration since 2008. The collaboration includes more than 400 physicists from 58 institutions in 14 countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers continue to shape neutrino astronomy by contributing to next-generation observatories. Taboada leads the design of the trigger system for the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/news\/scientists-awarded-15m-next-gen-underwater-neutrino-observatory\u0022\u003EPacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE) Observatory\u003C\/a\u003E, and Otte is the principal investigator of the NSF-funded\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/16\/physicists-focus-neutrinos-new-telescope\u0022\u003ETrinity Neutrino Observatory\u003C\/a\u003E in Utah.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFor Georgia Tech physicists, this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes decades of work that helped establish neutrino astronomy as a new way to understand the universe.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For Georgia Tech physicists, this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes decades of work that helped establish neutrino astronomy as a new way to understand the universe."}],"uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-10-07 21:17:10","changed_gmt":"2026-10-09 14:06:25","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-10-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-10-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671071":{"id":"671071","type":"image","title":"An artist\u0027s impression of neutrino emission from the Galactic plane, and IceCube Lab at the South Pole. (IceCube\/NSF. Original photo by Martin Wolf)","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAn artist\u0027s impression of neutrino emission from the Galactic plane, and IceCube Lab at the South Pole. (IceCube\/NSF. Original photo by Martin Wolf)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1688061107","gmt_created":"2023-06-29 17:51:47","changed":"1688061107","gmt_changed":"2023-06-29 17:51:47","alt":"An artist\u0027s impression of neutrino emission from the Galactic plane","file":{"fid":"254069","name":"ICL_GP_neutrinos.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/06\/29\/ICL_GP_neutrinos.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/06\/29\/ICL_GP_neutrinos.png","mime":"image\/png","size":4168188,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/06\/29\/ICL_GP_neutrinos.png?itok=VHe8WL7X"}}},"media_ids":["671071"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/16\/physicists-focus-neutrinos-new-telescope","title":"Physicists Focus on Neutrinos With New Telescope "},{"url":"https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/news\/scientists-awarded-15m-next-gen-underwater-neutrino-observatory","title":"Scientists Awarded $1.5M for Next-Gen Underwater Neutrino Observatory"},{"url":"https:\/\/icecube.wisc.edu\/","title":"IceCube Neutrino Observatory"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"175788","name":"Nobel Prize in Physics"},{"id":"11442","name":"neutrinos"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: Lindsay C. Vidal\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}