Who was Nuno Loureiro, MIT professor and fusion scientist, shot dead at his house?

The fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor, Nuno Loureiro, comes at a time when Brown University, another prestigious institution, is reeling from an unsolved shooting that killed two students and left nine others wounded. 

According to the Brookline police and MIT officials, Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot inside his apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday night. He died on Tuesday morning after he was rushed to the hospital for treatment. 

The Boston Globe  reported that Louise Cohen, Loureiro’s neighbour, heard the gunshots when she was lighting the Hanukkah menorah on Monday, around 8:30 pm. Officers arrived after receiving a call about the shooting at the three-story apartment building, and Loureiro was then taken to a Boston hospital, where he died.   

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The Brookline police chief, Jennifer Paster, said, “This remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation." With no arrest in this case, the police are still searching for a suspect.   

Who was Nuno Loureiro, the MIT professor killed at his house? 

Dr Loureiro was born and raised in Viseu, in central Portugal. He pursued his undergraduate degree in physics from the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon and a doctorate from Imperial College London in 2005. Loureiro was a researcher for nuclear fusion in Lisbon. 

According to The  New York Times (NYT), after completing a postdoctoral work at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Britain’s national laboratory for fusion research, he came back to Portugal at the Instituto Superior Técnico’s Institute as a principal investigator for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion.  

Dr Loureiro, who was married, joined MIT’s faculty in 2016, where he was appointed as deputy director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Centre in 2022. Dr Loureiro was also an expert on a fundamental plasma process called magnetic reconnection, the NYT reports.   

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In 2024, MIT named Dr Loureiro director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of the school’s largest laboratories, where more than 250 researchers, staff members and students worked when he was selected as its leader. 

He was a member of the departments of nuclear science and engineering and physics. He was also the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Centre, the school said. 

According to  CBS, Dr Loureiro also studied how to harness clean “fusion power” to combat climate change.   

A breakthrough in his career came when former President Joe Biden, in January, announced that Dr Loureiro was one of nearly 400 scientists who had been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the  NYT  reports. It is considered the highest honour accorded by the US government to outstanding scientists and engineers. 

The MIT professor is survived by his wife, Ines, and three children. He was living at a three-story apartment building in Brookline, Massachusetts, according to several media reports. 

Where does the investigation stand? 

The fatal shooting occurred in Brookline, an affluent suburb a few miles outside of Boston. Authorities confirmed on Tuesday that they have launched a homicide investigation into the matter. 

CBS News  reported that Loureiro’s neighbour rushed to his house after hearing gunshots. She witnessed the professor lying on his back inside the apartment building’s entrance and called 911. 

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said that they responded after receiving the information about a man shot at his home. David Linton, the office spokesman, confirmed that no arrest has been made in this case yet. 

Jennifer Paster, Brookline police chief, in a statement, said, “This remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation. In order to protect the integrity of the investigation, we are limited in the information we can share at this time and ask for the community’s understanding and patience.”   

Police have been deployed in the neighbourhood as the investigation continues, Paster added. “The Brookline Police Department remains committed to pursuing justice and ensuring the safety of our community.” 

The special agent in charge of the FBI in Boston, Ted Docks, clarified that there “seems to be no connection” between the MIT professor shooting and a shooting at Brown University. 

What have been the reactions to the professor’s death? 

Sally Kornbluth, the president of MIT, said in its statement, “This shocking loss for our community comes in a period of disturbing violence in many other places. It’s entirely natural to feel the need for comfort and support.” 

Kornbluth expressed her condolences over the untimely death of a “gifted administrator and enthusiastic mentor.”   

A former director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Centre, Dennis Whyte, remembered Loureiro not only as a “brilliant scientist, but a brilliant person.” MIT published an obituary in which Whyte wrote, “He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader, and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner.” 

The head of MIT’s department of physics, Deepto Chakrabarty, called Loureiro a “champion of plasma physics,” adding that his research is a “particularly exciting new scientific direction.” 

CNN Portugal reported  that Portugal’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Paulo Rangel, announced Loureiro’s death in the Parliament. John J Arrigo, U.S ambassador to Portugal, in a statement expressed his condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Loureiro. “We honour his life, his leadership in science, and his enduring contributions,” Arrigo said.   

Loureiro’s students also visited his apartment to pay their respects upon hearing the news of his tragic death, according to a  Boston Globe  report. 

A Brookline High School student told  Fox News Digital that he met Loureiro during his middle school years. Loureiro’s daughter and the student attended the same karate class.  

“He was always very welcoming,” the student said. “I used to have trouble being on time back then, and he would always be very gracious and forgiving. He was very inviting,” he told  Fox News. 

With inputs from agencies