A new Scientific Advisory Council established by the Trump Administration to study UAPs is being led by Harvard professor Avi Loeb, former chair of the university's astronomy department. The Council is working to get access to as much information as possible, starting with what's been publicly released, while Loeb has floated a number of controversial theories on possible alien life.
The Trump administration has formally established a new Scientific Advisory Council dedicated to investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena, appointing Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb to lead the effort. The Trump administration selected Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb to lead a scientific council studying UFOs and unidentified anomalous phenomena for national security risks. Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) are now the focus of this new Scientific Advisory Council, led by Avi Loeb of Harvard, which is investigating the staggering number of first-person accounts, video and documents recently released by the government. This development represents a significant institutional evolution in the Trump administration's broader disclosure initiative, formalized through executive directive in February 2026.
Avi Loeb, who served as head of Harvard's astronomy department until 2020 and has for years theorized that alien technology may already be on Earth, will join a team studying the national security risks of UFOs, which the U.S. government refers to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The council will report to a newly established UAP Governance Board, overseen by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as part of the Trump administration's efforts to declassify highly requested information surrounding UFOs. The council operates as an external scientific body rather than an internal government office, designed to leverage academic expertise alongside classified declassification efforts.
Avi Loeb's scientific advisory council has requested over 50 Pentagon videos and documents related to UAP sightings under a new transparency push. The council itself has no budget, and membership is voluntary and unpaid. This lean operational structure reflects the council's role as an advisory body intended to analyze already-declassified materials and provide scientific recommendations rather than conduct independent investigations. According to the council's website, Loeb and his colleagues will only be reviewing already-declassified materials on UAPs.
Loeb's appointment has sparked considerable debate within the scientific community. Steve Desch, an astrophysicist at Arizona State University and a frequent Loeb critic, told the AP, "I don't know what's going to come of this, but we're not going to get any closer to answering these questions with him in charge." A former Pentagon official, Sean Kirkpatrick, also questioned Loeb's appointment, telling the AP that he is "not viewed favorably" by much of the scientific community and lacks national security experience. These critiques reflect long-standing academic disputes over Loeb's theoretical work, particularly his controversial 2019 hypothesis regarding the interstellar object 'Oumuamua.
Defending his role, Loeb described his role as "really simple, because it's like a detective" and noted that "the worst that can happen to a detective is that the detective is starved of data." Loeb stated, "The mistake that is often made about science is the belief that, 'Oh, the data will come and guide us.' But the problem is that to collect the data, you need to put in effort. And it's often a heroic effort to get the high-quality data." His framing emphasizes the importance of comprehensive data collection in resolving UAP mysteries.
The panel is tasked with assessing whether these unidentified anomalous phenomena might be foreign assets spying on the United States and getting to the bottom of a question that has intrigued scientists, conspiracists, and "X-Files" fanatics for decades: Have aliens visited us on Earth? This dual mandate—national security assessment and scientific investigation—positions the council at the intersection of defense and academic inquiry. The advisory council is expected to provide scientific reports and recommendations to the governance board, which brings together officials with responsibilities spanning intelligence, defence and law enforcement, with Loeb noting the council will work with unclassified information and concentrate on evidence, instruments and methods of analysis.
The establishment of this council under Trump's second administration represents an acceleration of disclosure initiatives that began with the May 2026 launch of the PURSUE system. The UAP Science Advisory Council will report to a higher-level UAP Governance Board, which will serve as an interagency body that can use each of its members' capabilities and unique authorities to cohesively address national security threats posed by unexplained phenomena. As congressional interest in November UAP hearings continues to develop, Loeb's council positioning itself as an independent scientific advisory body may play a pivotal role in shaping government and public understanding of declassified UAP materials.
