Since President Donald Trump kicked off his second term, the U.S. government has been steadily declassifying files on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and pushing to set up a dedicated task force to study them. Now, the White House has officially named Dr. Avi Loeb, the former chair of Harvard University’s astronomy department and a well-known astrophysicist, to lead its UFO committee.
Loeb’s team is a scientific advisory board tasked with digging into the origins of mysterious celestial objects and unidentified craft reported by the U.S. military. They’ll report directly to the “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” (UAP) task force under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
From 2011 to 2020, Loeb chaired Harvard’s astronomy department, focusing on black holes and galaxy formation. Since 2021, he’s been heading Harvard’s “Galileo Project,” which hunts for signs of alien technology.
But Loeb is no stranger to controversy—he’s built a reputation for floating wild, often unsubstantiated theories. Back in 2017, when the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua zipped through our solar system, Loeb boldly claimed it might be a thin “light sail” from an alien spacecraft, not a natural phenomenon.
Then, in 2023, his team fished hundreds of tiny fragments from the Pacific Ocean, which he said could be from “a distant planet or alien tech.” The scientific community wasn’t buying it—other experts argued the debris was likely just volcanic rock or coal ash.
Avi Loeb in a file photo
According to the Associated Press, the committee has over 10 scientists and UFO experts, all handpicked by Loeb himself. One member is retired U.S. Army Major General Timothy Gallaudet, who’s previously claimed the U.S. has “recovered” a UFO controlled by “non-human intelligence.” Another is billionaire Ben Lamm, known for his work on “de-extincting” species.
The panel has already asked the Pentagon for more than 50 videos, images, and documents related to UFO sightings. While most meetings are held behind closed doors, Loeb has promised to launch a website to share findings with the American public.
Still, critics and analysts aren’t convinced. Steven Desch, an astrophysicist at Arizona State University, slammed Loeb for using “flawed research methods” to jump to “crazy conclusions” about alien life, calling the appointment highly unreliable.
Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist who served at the Pentagon, worries that Loeb lacks national security experience and is too polarizing in the scientific world. He points out that the committee’s lineup suggests the Trump administration is more interested in “rumors and gossip” than rigorous, evidence-based research.
