Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Wikipedia on Francis Halzen

 begin quote from: 

Francis Halzen


Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Francis_Halzen

Francis Halzen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francis Halzen
MAE
Born
Francis Louis Halzen

23 March 1944 (age 82)
Tienen, Belgium
EducationCatholic University of Leuven (MSc, PhD)
Known forIceCube Neutrino Observatory
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
WorkplacesCERN
University of Wisconsin–Madison
ThesisGebroken symmetrieën van hadronen - dynamica van het PII Pl-nucleon kanaal (1968)
Doctoral students
Dan Hooper
WebsiteOfficial website

Francis Louis Halzen (born 23 March 1944) is a Belgian-American particle physicist and Nobel laureate. He is the Hilldale and Gregory Breit Distinguished Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of its Institute for Elementary Particle Physics, and also the principal investigator of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, the world's largest neutrino detector.

In 2026, Halzen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin."

Early life and education

Francis Louis Halzen[citation needed] was born on 23 March 1944 in Tienen, Belgium.[1]

He graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven, with an MSc Physics degree in 1966, a PhD in 1969, then his agrégation de l'enseignement supérieur in 1972, all at Leuven.[2] His PhD thesis was titled "Gebroken symmetrieën van hadronen - dynamica van het PII Pl-nucleon kanaal".[3]

Career

Between 1969 and 1971 he worked as a scientific associate at CERN. In 1972 he was appointed professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the principal investigator on the AMANDA and IceCube projects.[4]

Research

Halzen has been a leading scientist in the development of cosmic ray physics and astroparticle physics since the 1970s. In addition to particle physics he published many early papers on cosmic ray anomalies and quark matter, and on relations between particle physics and cosmic rays, on particles from supernovae and on muon production in atmospheric gamma-ray showers.[5]

AMANDA

Halzen first learned about attempts by Russian scientists to detect neutrinos in Antarctica, using radio antennas at their Antarctic research station to search for electric sparks resulting from cosmic neutrinos colliding with the ice.[6] After determining these interactions would be too weak to register, in 1987 he started working on the AMANDA project, which proposed burying an array of light sensors deep in the Antarctic ice which is clear, dark, stable, sterile and free of background light. This pilot experiment proved successful; however, their results were marred by interference from cosmic rays as well as air bubbles in the ice. This convinced him that a much larger and deeper array would be needed, and in 2005 the AMANDA project became part of its successor project, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.[7]

IceCube

Halzen argued for a much larger detector and secured funding from both European and American sources. In 2005, his team began construction of the IceCube project, designed to be 100 times larger than AMANDA, with a total volume of 1 km3 and buried up to a mile and a half deep. After six years of construction, IceCube became fully operational in 2011.[8]

The most important result from IceCube was the clear breakthrough observation of high-energy neutrinos (about 100 times more energetic than the particles accelerated today at the world's most powerful machine, the LHC at CERN) in 2013, from as-yet-unidentified sources outside the Galaxy. This discovery has stimulated the planning and development of even larger neutrino telescopes, both at the South Pole and deep underwater.[5]

In 2026, Halzen, the principal investigator of the project, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin."[1]

Other roles

Halzen has served on various advisory committees, including those for the SNO, Telescope Array and Auger-upgrade experiments, the Max Planck Institutes in Heidelberg and Munich, the ICRR at the University of Tokyo in 1983 and 1987, the US Particle Physics Prioritization Panel and the ApPEC particle astrophysics advisory panel in Europe.[9]

Books

With Alan Martin he co-authored Quarks and Leptons: An Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics (1984), a standard textbook in particle physics.[10][11]

Awards

Personal life

Halzen has United States citizenship.[22]

References

  1. "Nobel Prize in Physics 2026". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  2. "Francis Halzen: Curriculum Vitae". Academy of Europe. Retrieved 7 October 2026.
  3. [https://lib.is/lbsn996766760101471/representation?libis=11:1:1& "Gebroken symmetrieën van hadronen -dynamica van het PII Pl-nucleon kanaal". Halzen, Francis (author); KUL. Faculteit wetenschappen. (other) s. n. Leuven: s.n. 1968. [Library catalogue entry, University of Leuven].
  4. "Academy of Europe: Halzen Francis". Academia Europaea. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  5. "2015 Balzan Prize for Astroparticle Physics including neutrino and gamma-ray observation". International Balzan Prize Foundation. October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  6. Jayawardhana, Ray (10 December 2013). Neutrino Hunters: The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe. Scientific American. ISBN 978-0-374-22063-1.
  7. "Scientific background to the Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 (pdf)" (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2026 – via NobelPrize.Org.
  8. "IceCube: celebrating a decade of discovery". 13 May 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2026 – via University of Oxford Department of Physics.
  9. "Francis Halzen: Biographical and Bibliographical Information". International Balzan Prize Foundation. October 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  10. "Alan Martin". Fellows Directory. Royal Society. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  11. Halzen, Francis; Martin, Alan D. (17 May 2008). Quark & Leptons: an Introductory Course in Modern Particle Physics. Wiley India Pvt. Limited. ISBN 978-81-265-1656-8.
  12. "APS Fellows archive". American Physical Society. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  13. Hamish Johnston (13 December 2013). "Cosmic neutrinos named Physics World 2013 Breakthrough of the Year". Physics World. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  14. "The 2015 EPS HEPP Prizes are announced". European Physical Society. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  15. "Bruno Pontecorvo Prize 2018 awarded to Professor Francis Halzen (University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA)". dlnp.jinr.ru.
  16. O'Keefe, Madeleine (2 August 2019). "Francis Halzen awarded the 2019 Yodh Prize". IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
  17. "Homi Bhabha Medal and Prize, C4: Awards - IUPAP: The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics". 17 February 2021.
  18. "National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members". www.nasonline.org. 30 April 2024. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  19. "Francis Halzen and the search for ghost particles". www.aps.org. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  20. Breeden, Aurelien (6 October 2026). "Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded to Francis Halzen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  21. Nobel Prize (14 September 2026). Announcement of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. Retrieved 6 October 2026 – via YouTube.
  22. "Francis Halzen wins Nobel Prize in Physics for neutrino research". Yahoo News. 6 October 2026. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)