The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is mourning the death of Nuno FG Loureiro, the director of its plasma science and fusion centre, who was shot dead at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Loureiro, 47, was found with multiple gunshot wounds on Monday night after police responded to a call at the property. He was taken to hospital by emergency services and was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning, according to the Norfolk County district attorney’s office.
An investigation into the killing was ongoing on Tuesday, officials said. No information has been released about a suspect or a possible motive.
News of Loureiro’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief across academic communities in the United States and Europe, as well as in his native country Portugal.
Portugal’s foreign affairs minister publicly announced the scientist’s death during a hearing on Tuesday, US media reported.
MIT’s president, Sally Kornbluth, described the shooting as a “shocking loss” in a letter sent to students and staff across the university.
She said the death came amid a period of heightened violence, following recent mass shootings at Brown University in Rhode Island and at Bondi Beach in Australia.
Kornbluth urged members of the MIT community to seek support, noting that feelings of distress and grief were natural. The letter included a list of mental health resources available on campus.
Loureiro was born in central Portugal and developed an interest in science at an early age. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon and completed postgraduate studies at Imperial College London.
He went on to undertake postdoctoral research at Princeton University’s plasma physics laboratory in New Jersey and at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the UK’s national fusion research facility.
After returning to Portugal, Loureiro served as a principal investigator at Instituto Superior Técnico’s institute for plasmas and nuclear fusion. He joined MIT’s faculty in 2016.
In 2022, he was appointed deputy director of MIT’s plasma science and fusion centre, before becoming its director in May 2024.
Earlier this year, Loureiro received an early career award from US president Joe Biden, one of fewer than 400 such honours given annually to scientists and engineers.
Upon his appointment as director, Loureiro described fusion energy as a challenge that could be overcome with determination and innovation.
“Fusion energy will change the course of human history,” he said at the time. “It’s both humbling and exciting to lead a research centre that will play a key role in enabling that change.”
Read more news on www.newdailyprime.news
