New and improved version of my article about the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen for detecting astrophysical neutrinos with IceCube. This version is being published by the news office of Ohio State University and benifited from their great editing. news.osu.edu/how-neutrino...

How neutrinos, which barely exist, just ran off with a Nobel Prize — again!

On Oct. 6, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Francis Halzen (University of Wisconsin) “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neut...

news.osu.edu

At Ohio State University, we have several open positions in Physics, Astronomy, and CCAPP (Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics)! Please help share the ads with promising candidates. Details in the comments below.

The 2026 Physics Nobel Prize to Francis Halzen is well deserved! I wrote the attached explainer for the public from the perspective of someone who has worked in this field and known Francis for decades. I welcome helping sharing it. Congratulations to Francis and all! medium.com/@beacom.7/ho...

How Neutrinos, Which Barely Exist, Just Ran Off with a Nobel Prize — Again!

John Beacom (Ohio State University), with no assistance from AI

medium.com

Ohio State Science Sundays is back for 2026–2027 academic year! We are in a bigger venue with free parking. The events are free, open to all, and are intended for general audiences. After the presentation, there is a nice reception with snacks where you can meet the speaker. Details below.

Learning to analyze, to question, to pursue knowledge, to build arguments based on evidence, and to discard sophistry: these are values that the sciences, social sciences, and humanities share. And we share the battle to protect this style of inquiry from barbarians who would destroy it.

The messengers generally look down on most scientific inquiry unless it’s a very specific form of applied science. We can’t let these folks divide us; in the end, much of STEM has more in common with the humanities and social sciences than with, e.g., business.

As someone in a STEM discipline, I really abhor the kind of messaging that Mark describes. The messengers aren’t people who actually care about STEM. It’s really a shorthand for “do something practical, focus on your relation to the labor market”.

Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · last mo.

👇🎯 If you send kids the message that the only majors that are good are business & STEM from the time they’re in middle school, & then you don’t find the humanities & social sciences at the college level, it all becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy & that was clearly the point in the first place.

Ohio State Science Sundays is back for 2026–2027 academic year! We will be in a bigger venue with free parking. As always, the events are free, open to all, and are intended for general audiences. After each presentation, there is a nice reception with snacks where you can meet the speaker.

For more than 20 years, my collaborators and I have been working towards a first detection of the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) --- the faint glow of neutrinos from all past core collapses throughout the universe. Super-Kamiokande now sees a 2.6sigma indication of detecting this.

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on April 5! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

Science Sundays: "Climate by any other name"

Ohio’s weather is telling a story. From warming temperatures to heavier rains, shifting weather patterns are reshaping life in Ohio. Through stories and science, we’ll connect the dots between global ...

artsandsciences.osu.edu

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on March 1! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

Science Sundays: "Centering humans at the interaction of art, design, and technology"

Technological change is remaking our world at a nearly incomprehensible pace. Artists and designers are uniquely positioned to reframe and shape how this change is encountered because their work direc...

artsandsciences.osu.edu

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on February 1! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

Science Sundays: "Changing how people think about science"

Communicating with the public about their science isn't something that all scientists do, nor is it something that they all do well. This talk will discuss how our language science lab inside the Cent...

artsandsciences.osu.edu

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on January 11! This event is intended for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

Science Sundays: "Who do you trust? Why journalism still matters"

In an era of misinformation, polarization and plummeting public confidence, journalism’s role is more crucial than ever. This talk explores how trust in media has eroded, why that matters for democrac...

artsandsciences.osu.edu

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on December 7! This event is for general audiences and is free. Columbus people, we hope to see you there! (For others, we'll post video in about a week.) We welcome help in telling others about this event. artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

Science Sundays: "Using AI and GIS to create virtual worlds from old maps"

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and Geographic Information Science (GIS) enable researchers to unlock the rich historical information trapped in old maps. The Ghost Neighborhoods of Columbus ...

artsandsciences.osu.edu

Deadline Dec 1!

Sean Carroll@seanmcarroll.bsky.social · last yr.

Postdoc job! I expect to have an opening at Johns Hopkins for a postdoctoral researcher working somewhere in the broad realms of physics, philosophy, and complexity. Apply at Academic Jobs Online: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30496

In a new Physical Review Letter, S. Meighen-Berger, J. Newstead, @johnbeacom.bsky.social, M. Dolan and I explain how the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) can make precision solar neutrino measurements. PRL: doi.org/10.1103/htfm... Popular science: pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/neu...

A bodhisattva who was just hanging out at the library.

Cool label on an old pallet jack, still in use decades after it was made.

Elementary particle physics reflects the human quest to understand the basic building blocks of nature and the rules that govern the physical world.

Here's the next Science Sundays event at Ohio State! artsandsciences.osu.edu/events/scien...

Science Sundays: "Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease: A Play in 5 Acts"

The unprecedented expansion in the elderly segment of the United States’ population, coupled with dearth of an effective cure, raises real concerns that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) will become a public h...

artsandsciences.osu.edu

My most recent Ph.D. graduate wanted to go to graduation. Most don't bother, so I'm not too experienced at this. How did I do? Bad enough to become a meme. 🙄

The next Ohio State Science Sundays event is on 8 December! Free public lecture with a nice reception afterwards where you can talk to the speaker. We welcome help sharing this. Details in the replies below.

People complain about the crappiness of American food, but I got like 18,000 years left on this mfer.