still unsolved shooting murder A prominent MIT professor's speech this week sent shockwaves through campus and the broader fusion energy research community in which he has been prominent.
Nuno Loureiro taught plasma physics at an elite university and headed the Center for Plasma and Fusion Science. The 47-year-old man was shot to death in his Brookline, Massachusetts, home on Monday and died at a nearby hospital the next day. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
Police have not identified a suspect in the killing, which came two days after a shooting at another elite college. Brown UniversityIn neighboring Rhode Island, two were killed and nine were injured. Law enforcement agencies are investigating possible connections between the Brown University shooting and Loureiro's killing, sources tell CBS News.
“Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person,” said colleague Dennis White. in the obituary published Tuesday by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader, and he was widely admired for his eloquent and compassionate demeanor. His loss is immeasurable for our community at PSFC, NSE and MIT, and throughout the world of fusion and plasma research.”
Loureiro's obituary described him as “an acclaimed theoretical physicist and fusion scientist” whose “research addresses the complex problems lurking at the heart of fusion chambers and at the edges of the Universe.”
Sources told CBS News that Loureiro was not working on anything classified because there is no sensitive work going on on campus.
MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro. / Credit: Jake Belcher
MIT President Sally Kornbluth wrote in a letter to students and faculty that “in the face of this shocking loss, our sympathies go out to his wife and their family, as well as to his many devoted students, friends and colleagues.”
A native of Portugal whose resume included fellowships at Imperial College London and Princeton, Loureir “used a combination of analytical theory and advanced modeling to investigate several topics in nonlinear plasma dynamics, particularly magnetic reconnection, turbulence and instabilities,” according to his university biography.
His research has led to widespread recognition and prestigious awards, including the American Physical Society's Thomas H. Styx Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Suspect identified in deadly shooting at Brown University
