Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, died early Tuesday after being shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
What happened?
Brookline police responded to a report of gunshots at an apartment on Gibbs Street at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, according to a local police spokesperson. Deputy Superintendent Paul Campbell told WBZ-TV that officers found “a victim” who “had been shot multiple times,” and said no one was in custody as of Wednesday morning.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office described the case as an active homicide investigation.
In a message to the MIT community, MIT President Sally Kornbluth called Loureiro’s death a “tragic” and “shocking” loss, and said the university’s “hearts go out to his wife and their family,” as well as students and colleagues. MIT also said outreach was underway to support those grieving.
Who was Loureiro?
Loureiro, 47, joined MIT’s faculty in 2016 and became director of the fusion center in 2024. He was widely recognized in the fusion and plasma research world, where his work aimed to bring “clean, near-limitless fusion power” closer to reality, per a statement from MIT.
“It’s not hyperbole to say MIT is where you go to find solutions to humanity’s biggest problems,” Loureiro said when he was named to lead the plasma science lab, per CBS News. “Fusion energy will change the course of human history.”
Loureiro is originally from Portugal. On Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador to Portugal, John J. Arrigo, released a statement expressing his condolences to Loureiro’s family, friends and colleagues.
“We honor his life, his leadership in science, and his enduring contributions,” Arrigo said.
The second attack this week on higher education
While not directly related, according to Boston FBI special agent Ted Docks, this is the second attack on individuals at an institution of higher learning in New England this week, per Fox News.
On Saturday, an unidentified shooter killed two and injured nine at Brown University, about an hour south of Brookline. The attackers in both instances are still at large.