Flemish physicist Francis Halzen says he was completely taken aback when he heard the news of his win of this year’s Nobel Prize for physics: “It was a huge surprise; I hadn’t expected it at all,” Halzen said via a telephone link during the press conference.
“Just last weekend I was at a science festival in Bergamo (Italy), where it was suggested that I might win the Nobel Prize. I couldn’t believe it then, and to be honest, I still can’t believe it,” he said.
Professor Halzen repeatedly thanked the people and scientists who had contributed to the construction of the IceCube detector. “Especially the courageous people who believed in it from the very beginning and took crucial decisions.”
“When we started out, we didn’t know whether this would ever work. There was no guarantee of success. By working together with talented people and with a bit of luck, we eventually succeeded after all.”