Brookline, Massachusetts, 17 December (H.S.): Renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro, 47, succumbed Tuesday to multiple gunshot wounds sustained during a shooting at his upscale Gibbs Street residence the previous evening.

Brookline police responded to reports of gunfire around 8:30 p.m. on December 15, discovering the Portuguese physicist in the building's foyer with severe injuries before rushing him to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he was pronounced dead early the next morning.

The Norfolk District Attorney's Office has launched an active homicide investigation involving Brookline Police, Massachusetts State Police, and MIT Police, but no suspects remain in custody and no motive has been disclosed.

Neighbors reported hearing three loud bangs consistent with gunshots, initially mistaking them for a door being kicked in.

Authorities have ruled out any connection to a recent shooting at Brown University.Loureiro, who joined MIT in 2016 as a professor in Nuclear Science and Engineering and Physics, assumed directorship of the prestigious Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024, overseeing over 250 staff across seven buildings focused on clean fusion energy breakthroughs.

His pioneering research illuminated magnetized plasma dynamics, turbulence in pair plasmas prevalent in astrophysics, and mechanisms for harnessing fusion power to combat climate change, earning him widespread acclaim as a mentor and leader.

MIT expressed profound grief, with former Plasma Science Center director Dennis Whyte lamenting, Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person... His loss is immeasurable to our community.

Tributes poured in from the global fusion and plasma research community, highlighting Loureiro's compassionate influence after earning his physics degree from Lisbon's Instituto Superior Técnico in 2000 and PhD from Imperial College London in 2005.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar