RAPID CITY, S.D. – Researchers at South Dakota Mines are celebrating after a scientist connected to a project they help support received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Dr. Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison was honored for his work on the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole and for helping discover high-energy neutrinos originating from deep space.
Neutrinos are tiny subatomic particles that can travel across the universe, carrying clues about some of its most powerful and mysterious events. Halzen’s vision transformed Antarctic ice into a giant scientific detector capable of tracking those particles.
South Dakota Mines is one of dozens of institutions around the world that are part of the IceCube Collaboration. Mines researchers have traveled to Antarctica, contributed to cosmic ray studies, and helped develop new technology for the observatory. In 2024, researchers from the university installed four telescopes at the South Pole to provide additional data on cosmic ray events.
University leaders say the Nobel Prize highlights both the groundbreaking discoveries already made by IceCube and the important role Mines faculty and students continue to play in exploring the origins of the universe’s most energetic particles.
Researchers say the recognition underscores South Dakota’s contribution to a global scientific effort that is helping unlock some of the universe’s greatest mysteries.
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