Nuno Loureiro, a professor of nuclear physics at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was killed in an attack at his home in Brooklyn, said Jennifer Pasteur, the head of the local police department.
“The victim, 47-year-old Nuno F.G. Loureiro, was taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds and died this morning,” police said in a statement.
Pasteur added that law enforcement officials will restrict access to information on this investigation “in order to ensure objectivity.”
According to CBS News, citing sources, on Monday evening, neighbors heard “three loud bangs.” After that, the police responded to the call, found and hospitalized the professor with several wounds.
Loureiro studied how powerful solar flares occur and was looking for a way to obtain clean and virtually limitless energy using thermonuclear fusion to counter climate change. For his contributions, the professor has received numerous awards, including being elected a member of the American Society of Physicists (2022), the Ruth and Joel Spear Award for Outstanding Teaching (2022) and the Thomas Styx Award for Achievements in Plasma Research (2015).