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Who was Nuno Loureiro? MIT professor gunned down in apartment near university
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BROOKLINE, Mass. — A world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor and fusion-energy physicist was shot and killed inside his home earlier this week, an attack that has rattled one of the country’s most elite scientific communities.
Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, was a professor of nuclear science and engineering and the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Loureiro was a renowned figure in fusion-energy research, a field that seeks to recreate the power of the sun inside fusion reactors on Earth. His theories and models helped guide major fusion experiments in the United States and Europe.
Loureiro was rushed to a hospital with “apparent gunshot wounds” Monday evening and pronounced dead Tuesday morning, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. A homicide investigation is underway.
NEIGHBORS OF SLAIN MIT PROFESSOR STUNNED BY KILLING
Undated file photo of Nuno Loureiro, a professor of nuclear science and engineering and of physics at MIT. (Jake Belcher for MIT)
No suspect has been identified and the motive for the killing is still unknown.
The shooting in Brookline occurred two days after an attack at Brown University left two dead and nine injured on Saturday.
While investigators in both cases, at prestigious universities less than 50 miles apart, are sharing intelligence, the special agent in charge of Boston’s FBI office, Ted Docks, said at a news briefing Tuesday that authorities don’t think they’re connected.
Originally from Portugal, Loureiro studied in his home country, in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where he researched topics including the phenomenon behind solar flares. He also focused on plasma — a super-hot form of matter found in stars and in experimental fusion reactors.
Fusion is the process that makes the sun burn and Loureiro’s work explored how that power could be bottled on Earth and controlled inside those reactors. If fusion ever becomes a real source of cheap, clean electricity, it will rely on the kind of physics he helped explain.
MIT Professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro speaks in an undated photo. (rafaelmgrossi via X)
“Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person,” Dennis Whyte, a fellow MIT professor, said in an obituary posted by the university. “He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner. His loss is immeasurable to our community at the PSFC, NSE and MIT, and around the entire fusion and plasma research world.”
Allen Taylor, a Tufts University professor of biomechanical and molecular nutrition who lives in the area, told Fox News Digital outside Loureiro’s home on Wednesday that the shooting rocked the tight-knit community, which is also home to several Brown University students, where another shooting claimed two lives over the weekend.
“I’m concerned because he was a human being, first, and secondly, because he’s a scientist, and I know how much we invest in training people so they can make major contributions to our society, and then when they’re murdered, it’s a tremendous compromise to our community and to the world at large,” Taylor said.
MIT PROFESSOR SHOT, KILLED IN BROOKLINE HOME: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT BOSTON-AREA ATTACK
The Brookline apartment building where MIT professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro was shot earlier this week is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, as investigators continue to search for leads in the homicide case. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)
Loureiro obtained an undergraduate degree from the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon before getting a Ph.D. in physics at Imperial College London.
He went on to do post-doctoral work at Princeton University in New Jersey and UKAEA Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in the U.K. and returned to research in Lisbon before joining MIT’s faculty in 2016. He became a full professor in 2021 and was later named the director of the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
His research has earned him a half-dozen awards since 2015, most recently honored with the U.S. government’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which he received earlier this year.
MIT PROFESSOR SHOT DEAD IN BROOKLINE HOME, MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE LAUNCH HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
A crowd of people holding candles gather outside the home of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
In a 2019 interview, Loureiro likened complicated science to an art form.
“When we stimulate theoretically inclined minds by framing plasma physics and fusion challenges as beautiful theoretical physics problems, we bring into the game incredibly brilliant students — people who we want to attract to fusion development,” he said.
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In an earlier lecture on accepting and overcoming failure, he urged students to set their goals high and not be afraid of falling short.
“If you’re not failing all the time, you’re aiming too low,” he said.
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Naugatuck Police say one person has been arrested after a multi-car accident on Route 63 Saturday afternoon.
According to police, they responded to the area of Route 63 and Cherry Street around 1 p.m. for reports of a collision with injuries.
They say a 30-year-old man from Waterbury was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of drugs/alcohol, operating under the influence with a child passenger, illegal possession of prescription drugs, failure to keep narcotics in the original container, risk of injury to a child and distracted driving.
Police say he is being held on a $10,000 Surety Bond.
This is all the information at this time.
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – Good morning and Happy Sunday everyone. Skies are cloudy with fog across much of Maine this morning. Rain has entered locations along the interstate and to the northwest. Temperatures vary from the upper 30s to mid 40s. Winds are out of the SE between about 5-15 mph.
Today will be a wet and impactful day with rain and even snow anticipated as a large cold front passes through Maine. Skies will be cloudy with plenty of fog lasting through the morning. Rain will expand across the interstate by the late morning hours, reaching Downeast locations by midday/the early afternoon.
By the early to midafternoon, temperatures will start to drop across northwestern locations as the cold front passes through Maine. This will result in rain turning over to mixed precipitation and eventually snow across the Western Mountains, Moosehead region, and Northern Maine. Rain will continue steadily and at times heavily across the foothills, Interstate, Coast, and Downeast. A few thunderstorms are even possible closer to the coast.
Snow will expand across areas to the northwest of the interstate this evening, reaching all the way down to Interior Midcoast communities, the Bangor region, and Interior Downeast areas by sunset and into the start of the night. Precipitation will taper off across Western Maine shortly after sunset, before exiting the entire state around midnight tonight. High temps today will vary from the low 40s to low 50s with SSE to NW gusts reaching 20-25 mph.
Snowfall totals will vary under 2 inches across Western, Northern, and Interior Downeast locations. However, a few pockets of 2-4 inches are possible, mostly in higher elevations across the mountains. Rainfall totals will accumulate around a half inch to three quarters of an inch when all is said and done.
Precipitation will be out of Maine by midnight tonight, with cloudy conditions giving way to mostly clear skies by sunrise. Lows overnight will dip back below freezing across much of the state, from the low 20s to mid 30s tonight, so cover up any plants or flowers outside. WNW gusts will reach 20-25 mph. A Small Craft Advisory is expected offshore.
Skies will be partly to mostly sunny across the interstate and coast on Monday morning. However, by the late morning to midday hours, clouds will build with a few scattered rain and snow showers in spots. Conditions will remain on the cloudier side in the afternoon before clearing up around sunset into the start of Monday night. Highs will be chilly on Monday, from the low 30s to upper 40s. WNW to SW gusts will be a bit breezy, reaching 20-25 mph, which will add to the wind chill factor.
High pressure will build on Monday night, remaining overhead on Tuesday. Skies will be sunny in the morning, becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs will remain cool, in the 40s across the board with North to SW gusts only reaching 15-20 mph.
A weaker low-pressure system could bring showers across Maine on Wednesday and Thursday. There is a bit of model uncertainty on exactly when it will impact Maine. The GFS has impacts on Wednesday, while the EURO, GRAF, and GDPS models have most of the impacts on Thursday. We will continue to monitor this system and potential impacts. All it looks to provide as of now are cloudier skies and rain showers, with some snow shower chances farther to the North.
By Friday and Saturday, conditions are trending on the drier side with sunshine and average temperatures returning to the forecast.
SUNDAY: Highs from low 40s to low 50s. Cloudy with AM fog. Rain becoming widespread throughout the day, turning over to snow to the north & west during PM. SSE to NW gusts reach 20-25 mph.
MONDAY: Highs from low 30s to upper 40s. Partly to mostly sunny early. Developing clouds with scattered rain/snow showers by midday/afternoon. WNW to SW gusts reach 20-25 mph.
TUESDAY: Highs throughout the 40s. Sunnier AM. Partly to mostly sunny PM. North to SW gusts reach 15-20 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Highs from low 40s to low 50s. Mostly cloudy with a few rain showers. Few AM snow showers possible North. SSE to SSW gusts reach 20-25 mph.
THURSDAY: Highs from mid 40s to mid 50s. Cloudier skies with rain showers possible. Some AM snow showers possible North. NW gusts reach 20-25 mph.
FRIDAY: Highs from upper 40s to mid 50s. Partly cloudy. NNW gusts reach 20 mph.
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