The still-unsolved shooting death of an acclaimed Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor this week has sent shockwaves through the campus and the broader fusion energy research community in which he was prominent.
Nuno Loureiro taught plasma physics at the elite university and led its Plasma Science and Fusion Center. The 47-year-old was shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, 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 homicide, which occurred two days after a shooting at another elite college, Brown University, in neighboring Rhode Island, left two dead and nine injured. Law enforcement is investigating possible connections between the Brown University shooting and Loureiro's homicide, sources tell CBS News.
"Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person," colleague Dennis Whyte said in an obituary published Tuesday by MIT. "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."
The obituary described Loureiro as "a lauded theoretical physicist and fusion scientist," whose "research addressed complex problems lurking at the center of fusion vacuum chambers and at the edges of the universe."
Sources tell CBS News that Loureiro wasn't working on anything classified, as there's no classified work being performed on campus.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth wrote in a letter to students and faculty that "in the face of this shocking loss, our hearts go out to his wife and their family and to his many devoted students, friends and colleagues."
A native of Portugal, whose résumé included stints at the Imperial College London and Princeton, Loureir "used a combination of analytical theory and state-of-the art simulations to investigate several topics in nonlinear plasma dynamics, particularly magnetic reconnection, turbulence and instabilities," according to his university biography.
His research led to widespread acclaim and prestigious awards that included the American Physical Society Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Person of interest identified in deadly Brown University shooting
LATEST POSTS
- 1
This Unique National Park In Canada Is Famous For Its Otherworldly Limestone Monoliths - 2JW Marriott Tokyo: an elegant retreat amid whirlwind of the city
- 3'A prank': Israel Police detain suspect for shooting rubber bullets at Ashkelon kindergarten
- 4Modern surgery began with saws and iron hands – how amputation transformed the body in the Renaissance
- 5Explosions at Burundi ammunition depot kill civilians, witnesses say
- RFK Jr. says fewer flu shots for kids may be 'better.' What experts say.
- The most effective method to Guarantee Scholastic Honesty in Web-based Degrees
- Wedding Guest Outraged That Bride and Groom, Who Are in Their 60s and Have Both Been Married Before, Registered for Gifts
- 6 US States for Fly Fishing
- Russia confirms 16 Cameroonian soldiers killed in Ukraine war
- Trouvez La Carte De Cr\u00e9dit Id\u00e9ale Pour Vos Besoins En Belgique
- The most effective method to Remain Ahead in the Most recent Advanced Patterns with a Web based Advertising Degree
- Kremlin: Russian troops conquer Pokrovsk after year of intense combat
- Sunken warship found off Danish coast after 225 years in ‘remarkable’ discovery
