Who was Nuno Loureiro? MIT professor gunned down in apartment near university

BROOKLINE, Mass. — A world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prof and fusion-energy physicist was changeable and killed wrong his location earlier this week, an onslaught that has rattled 1 of the country’s astir elite technological communities.

Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, was a prof of atomic subject and engineering and the manager of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Loureiro was a renowned fig successful fusion-energy research, a tract that seeks to recreate the powerfulness of the prima wrong fusion reactors connected Earth. His theories and models helped usher large fusion experiments successful the United States and Europe.

Loureiro was rushed to a infirmary with "apparent gunshot wounds" Monday evening and pronounced dormant Tuesday morning, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office successful Massachusetts. A homicide probe is underway.

NEIGHBORS OF SLAIN MIT PROFESSOR STUNNED BY KILLING

Undated record photograph of Nuno Loureiro, a prof of atomic subject and engineering and of physics astatine MIT. (Jake Belcher for MIT)

No fishy has been identified and the motive for the sidesplitting is inactive unknown.

The shooting successful Brookline occurred 2 days aft an onslaught astatine Brown University near 2 dormant and 9 injured connected Saturday.

While investigators successful some cases, astatine prestigious universities little than 50 miles apart, are sharing intelligence, the peculiar cause successful complaint of Boston's FBI office, Ted Docks, said astatine a quality briefing Tuesday that authorities don't deliberation they're connected.

Originally from Portugal, Loureiro studied successful his location country, successful the United Kingdom and successful the United States, wherever helium researched topics including the improvement down star flares. He besides focused connected plasma — a super-hot signifier of substance recovered successful stars and successful experimental fusion reactors.

Fusion is the process that makes the prima pain and Loureiro’s enactment explored however that powerfulness could beryllium bottled connected Earth and controlled wrong those reactors. If fusion ever becomes a existent root of cheap, cleanable electricity, it volition trust connected the benignant of physics helium helped explain.

MIT Professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro speaks successful an undated photo. (rafaelmgrossi via X)

"Nuno was not lone a superb scientist, helium was a superb person," Dennis Whyte, a chap MIT professor, said successful an obituary posted by the university. "He shone a agleam airy arsenic a mentor, friend, teacher, workfellow and person and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner. His nonaccomplishment is immeasurable to our assemblage astatine the PSFC, NSE and MIT, and astir the full fusion and plasma probe world."

Allen Taylor, a Tufts University prof of biomechanical and molecular nutrition who lives successful the area, told Fox News Digital extracurricular Loureiro's location connected Wednesday that the shooting rocked the tight-knit community, which is besides location to respective Brown University students, wherever different shooting claimed 2 lives implicit the weekend. 

"I'm acrophobic due to the fact that helium was a quality being, first, and secondly, due to the fact that he's a scientist, and I cognize however overmuch we put successful grooming radical truthful they tin marque large contributions to our society, and past erstwhile they're murdered, it's a tremendous compromise to our assemblage and to the satellite astatine large," Taylor said.

MIT PROFESSOR SHOT, KILLED IN BROOKLINE HOME: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT BOSTON-AREA ATTACK

The Brookline flat gathering wherever MIT prof Nuno F. G. Loureiro was changeable earlier this week is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, arsenic investigators proceed to hunt for leads successful the homicide case. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

Loureiro obtained an undergraduate grade from the Instituto Superior Tecnico successful Lisbon earlier getting a Ph.D. successful physics astatine Imperial College London.

He went connected to bash post-doctoral enactment astatine Princeton University successful New Jersey and UKAEA Culham Centre for Fusion Energy successful the U.K. and returned to probe successful Lisbon earlier joining MIT's module successful 2016. He became a afloat prof successful 2021 and was aboriginal named the manager of the school's Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

His probe has earned him a half-dozen awards since 2015, astir precocious honored with the U.S. government's Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which helium received earlier this year.

MIT PROFESSOR SHOT DEAD IN BROOKLINE HOME, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE LAUNCH HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION

A assemblage of radical holding candles stitchery extracurricular the location of Massachusetts Institute of Technology prof Nuno F.G. Loureiro successful Brookline, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.  (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

In a 2019 interview, Loureiro likened analyzable subject to an creation form.

"When we stimulate theoretically inclined minds by framing plasma physics and fusion challenges arsenic beauteous theoretical physics problems, we bring into the crippled incredibly superb students — radical who we privation to pull to fusion development," helium said.

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In an earlier lecture connected accepting and overcoming failure, helium urged students to acceptable their goals precocious and not beryllium acrophobic of falling short.

"If you're not failing each the time, you're aiming excessively low," helium said.