"It's not hyperbole," Nuno F.G. Loureiro said when he took over as director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024, "to say MIT is where you go to find solutions to humanity's biggest problems." He went on, "Fusion energy will change the course of human history."
Well, Loureiro is now dead in an apparent homicide.
These crimes happened just 50 miles away from each other, though authorities don't yet see a connection between the two.
Regardless, when one of the world's top scientists is apparently murdered, that's a big deal.
From CBS News:
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died at a local hospital on Tuesday, the Norfolk district attorney's office said, and authorities said they had launched a homicide investigation.
The prosecutor's office said no suspects had been taken into custody as of Tuesday and that its investigation was ongoing. Authorities have not released any information about possible leads or a potential motive in the killing.
Loureiro leaves behind his wife and at least one child.
Loureiro was particularly interested in nuclear fusion, which is defined as, "the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy." The process "could provide virtually limitless clean, safe, and affordable energy to meet the world's demand."
From MIT:
His research on magnetized plasma dynamics, magnetic field amplification, and confinement and transport in fusion plasmas helped inform the design of fusion devices that could harness the energy of fusing plasmas, bringing the dream of clean, near-limitless fusion power closer to reality.
Again, Loureiro is -- was -- one of the top scientists in the nation, so the sooner authorities can get to the bottom of this the better.
Here's a good highlight of what Loureiro was into for those of you who can keep up:
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