South African judge and human rights champion Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (October 9, 2026) in recognition of her work against war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Pillay, currently a judge on the International Court of Justice in a case where Myanmar also stands accused of genocide, has been “instrumental in ensuring that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are prosecuted,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

Nobel Prize 2026: An Interactive Guide

Born in Durban on September 23, 1941, to Indian parents of Tamil descent, Pillay grew up under apartheid and went on to build a career challenging racial discrimination, defending anti-apartheid activists and advancing human rights and equality.

Here is a brief timeline on her career:

If the infographic isn’t visible or is incomplete, click here to exit AMP mode

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for the discovery of “non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis”, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday (October 7, 2026).

The statement by the Academy said that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 recognises discoveries that have enabled chemists to drive chemical reactions that lead to homochirality.

“Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai have provided a solution to a chemical mystery that is over a century old: how homochirality can emerge spontaneously. The chemical reactions they have developed are spectacular,” says Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Mr. Kagan was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, and is associated with the Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France. Mr. Soai is from Hiroshima, Japan, and is affiliated with the Tokyo University of Science.

Last year, the jury honoured Japan’s Susumu Kitagawa, U.K.-born Richard Robson and American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi for developing a method of designing molecular structures. In 2024, David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were recognised for thier work on computational protein design and protein structure prediction.

Editorial | Let there be light: On the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine

The announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine kicked off Nobel announcement week, with Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel winning the 2026 prize for discoveries that led to optogenetics, a technique that allows scientists to control select nerve cells using light. The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Francis Halzen for his contributions to IceCube, a neutrino observatory at the South Pole, and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

On Thursday (October 8, 2026), the literature laureate will be revealed, and perhaps the most keenly anticipated award — the peace prize — is due on Friday (October 9, 2026).

The economics prize wraps up the Nobel season on October 12.

Nobel Prize 2026 Winners | Full List

The Nobel consists of a diploma, a gold medal, and a 12-million-kronor ($ 1.2 million) prize, which is shared if there is more than one winner in a discipline.

The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2026 has been awarded to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.”, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory – ideated by this year’s physics laureate Francis Halzen – tracks neutrinos that originate in the distant cosmos.

The neutrino interactions that are continuously collected by IceCube will provide researchers with novel knowledge about the violent settings in which high-energy neutrinos can be created – and could even reveal previously unknown cosmic phenomena.

Cosmic neutrinos with extremely high energies are very rare, so an enormous volume of ice is needed to observe an adequate number of collisions. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory covers an entire cubic kilometre and was finished in 2011. Researchers soon discovered the first high-energy neutrinos and, a few years later, could publish their discovery of neutrinos that must originate far outside our solar system. The search for the universe’s neutrino sources could begin in earnest.

Francis Halzen has laid the foundation for an entirely new type of astronomy. His idea was to use glacial ice at the South Pole to capture the secretive particles called neutrinos. The result was the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which can track neutrinos that originate in the distant cosmos.

Born in 1944 Tienen, Belgium, Halzen is Professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA.

It is a great pleasure to hear about this prize, said Halzen when the Committee reached out to him after the announcement.

Last year, John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis won the Physics Nobel for building device showing ‘quantum tunnelling’.

The announcement of medicine Nobel kicked off the Nobel announcement week. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel have been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to a technique called optogenetics, which allows scientists to control select nerve cells using light.

The Nobel Prize for chemistry will be announced on Wednesday (October 7), followed by literature (October 8), and peace (October 9). The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences, popularly known as Economics Nobel will be announced on October 12.

The winners will get a cash award of 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million). The award will be presented on December 10, the Nobel Prize day, also the death anniversary of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who in his will dictated that his estate should be used to fund “prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.