Theoretical astrophysicist at Harvard. Founded the Galileo Project in 2021 to systematically scan the sky and sea for technological signatures. Argued that 'Oumuamua may have been of artificial origin; mounted the 2023 Pacific Ocean expedition for IM1 fragments. In July 2026 was named chair of a White House UAP Science Council reporting to the ODNI's UAP Governance Board.
Dr. Avi Loeb is a theoretical physicist and the former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University. He initiated global scientific debate by proposing that the interstellar object 'Oumuamua' could be a technological artifact produced by a non-human intelligence. Loeb's key contribution is the establishment of the Galileo Project, a privately funded, systematic scientific search for extraterrestrial technological signatures and UAP using specialized sensor networks. He recently led an expedition to the Pacific Ocean to recover anomalous spherules linked to an interstellar meteor, subjecting them to rigorous material analysis. In July 2026, the White House appointed him to chair a UAP Science Council, a group of outside scientists tasked with assessing the origin and national-security risk of unidentified anomalous phenomena, reporting to a newly established UAP Governance Board under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The appointment drew criticism from some scientists and former Pentagon officials who questioned his standing on national-security matters. His work aggressively challenges the academic stigma surrounding the search for extraterrestrial technology.