NAS Members Receive Nobel Prizes

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has announced that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded jointly to NAS member Karl Deisseroth, NAS international member Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel discovered a remarkable protein, channelrhodopsin, in a single-celled alga. Karl Deisseroth transformed the protein into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells. The laureates have laid the foundation of a new era in neuroscience.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to NAS member Francis Halzen for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. Halzen realized that ice at the South Pole could be used to track particles known as neutrinos. His vision and scientific leadership have been fundamental for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory—a cubic kilometer of ice that is equipped with light sensors. Using IceCube, researchers can capture neutrinos from extremely energy-rich processes in the distant universe.