A celebrated Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor was fatally shot in his Boston-area home late Monday. The second Ivy League college shooting in a week left many worried the murder of Nuno F. G. Loureiro is related to the Brown shooting.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, an MIT physicist and director of the university’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was found with apparent gunshot wounds at his apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts, police said. Emergency responders transported him to a local hospital, where he died early Tuesday morning, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. Police have described the case as an active and ongoing homicide investigation, and no suspects have been publicly identified or taken into custody.
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Dr. Nuno Loureiro was one of the most important voices in nuclear fusion research.
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MIT area officials say the shooting happened at the professor’s three-story residence on Gibbs Street. Neighbors told local media they heard multiple loud bangs and initially thought they were loud noises or someone knocking. At least one neighbor said she saw Loureiro lying inside the building and called 911, along with another resident and Loureiro’s wife.
The MIT professor was a distinguished member of the Ivy League college’s faculty. Nuno Loureiro known internationally for his work in plasma physics and fusion science. A native of Viseu, Portugal, he earned his undergraduate degree in physics in Lisbon before completing a doctorate at Imperial College London. The MIT professor conducted postdoctoral research at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the UK’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy before joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016
At MIT, Loureiro served on the faculty of both the Nuclear Science and Engineering and Physics departments and was appointed director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024. The center is one of the Institute’s largest research laboratories, employing hundreds of scientists, researchers and students in cutting-edge work aimed at advancing clean energy technologies.
Pro-Israel Jewish MIT Physicist Murdered
“Nuno Loureiro was a professor at MIT. A man who dedicated his life to knowledge, teaching, and research. And he was a Jew.”
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— The Jewish Edition (@Jewdition) December 17, 2025
Colleagues and university leaders expressed profound shock and sorrow at murder of the MIT professor. College President Sally Kornbluth called the shooting “a shocking loss” in a statement, noting the tragedy comes during a broader period of unsettling violence in communities across the country. She extended condolences to his family, friends and the MIT community.
Dennis Whyte, a fellow engineering professor who previously led the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, described Loureiro as “a brilliant scientist” and admired mentor whose “compassionate manner” endeared him to students and colleagues alike.
The work by the MIT professor earned wide recognition, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers earlier this year, one of the U.S. government’s highest honors for researchers. Loureiro’s innovative contributions to plasma dynamics and fusion research were seen as advancing understanding of how to harness fusion energy — a potential clean power source of the future.
The attack has shaken Brookline residents, who said they never expected such violence in their typically quiet neighborhood. Some gathered outside Loureiro’s apartment in the aftermath of the shooting, laying flowers and lighting candles in tribute.
The Brookline Police Department, Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office and Massachusetts State Police are all involved in the investigation, which has so far yielded few details about possible motives or leads. Authorities have urged anyone with information to come forward and emphasized that the investigation remains in its early stages.
Loureiro is survived by his wife and three children, who have not publicly commented. As the search for answers continues. Investigators have not tied the killing of the MIT professor to the Brown shooting or any other recent violent crime incidents in the region and have not indicated any known motive.
