SNOLAB has deep connections to Nobel Prize winner

(SUDBURY) The decision by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to award the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen did not come as a surprise to SNOLAB Executive Director Jodi Cooley.

Halzen was chosen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in its announcement early Tuesday morning.

Halzen is on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cooley’s alma mater.

“Francis was one of my Ph.D. mentors, and I cannot overstate how proud I am to see his contributions recognized with the Nobel Prize,” Cooley said.

“Even as a graduate student, I remember Francis’s eternal excitement about the science,” she added. “He had a remarkable ability to make you believe that the hardest problems were worth pursuing, and that optimism helped shape an entire generation of researchers in neutrino astronomy.”

That enthusiasm led Cooley to conduct her Ph.D. research on the AMANDA-II neutrino detector, the pioneering experiment that laid the foundation for IceCube. As a graduate student, Cooley travelled twice to the South Pole during the austral summer to help calibrate and maintain the detector.

Dr. Jodi Cooley

Executive Director Learn more about Dr. Jodi Cooley

Through IceCube and its predecessor experiments, researchers demonstrated that high-energy neutrinos can reveal some of the universe’s most extreme environments, opening an entirely new window on the sky and establishing neutrino astronomy as a fundamental tool for discovery, said Cooley.

As it happens, SNOLAB is currently testing an array of Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) for the IceCube experiment in its underground lab. The test is designed to help researchers better understand the background noise profile of new DOMs.

As well, Halzen serves on the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Scientific Initiatives  Standing Expert Committee for SNOLAB.

That connection to IceCube, to Halzen, and to the past is not lost on Cooley.

“He combined extraordinary scientific vision with an infectious enthusiasm for discovery, inspiring generations of scientists to pursue the bold idea that neutrinos could reveal a previously hidden universe,” Cooley says.

“At SNOLAB, we share that same spirit of exploration. Although our experiments are located two kilometres underground rather than embedded in Antarctic ice, we are united by a common goal: creating extraordinary detectors in extraordinary environments to study some of the most fundamental questions in physics. From neutrino science to dark matter searches, our researchers continue to push the boundaries of how we observe and understand the universe.”

About SNOLAB:

SNOLAB is Canada’s deep-underground science laboratory, located at a depth of 2 kilometres in Vale’s Creighton Mine near Sudbury, Ontario. Using the Canadian Shield to protect experiments from the cosmic rays that constantly bombard the Earth’s surface, SNOLAB supports world-class astroparticle physics research and has attracted innovative life science and quantum technology programs.

By hosting and enabling the world’s most advanced and sensitive underground experiments, SNOLAB bolsters Canada’s scientific reputation, attracts new talent to our country and Northern Ontario, trains more highly skilled people, provides more opportunities for Canadian researchers to lead international projects, and generates economic benefits for Ontarians and Canadians. 

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