Israeli-American Astrophysicist Avi Loeb Appointed White House UFO Investigator

The Trump administration has appointed Israeli-American astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb from Harvard University as the official "UFO hunter" to lead a new scientific council examining unidentified anomalous phenomena. This new body will report to the intelligence community as part of President Trump's initiative to declassify information and respond to public pressure on UFO disclosures.

Professor Loeb, formerly head of Harvard's astronomy department, brings a distinguished scientific background but also a controversial reputation. He gained public attention in 2017 after the interstellar object 'Oumuamua' passed through the solar system. While most scientists considered it a comet, asteroid, or ice fragment, Loeb proposed it might be a light sail from alien technology. This theory became a bestseller book but was criticized by many in the scientific community.

At Harvard, Loeb founded the Galileo Project to search for signs of extraterrestrial technology. He led an expedition near Papua New Guinea to collect tiny metallic spheres from a 2014 meteor crash site, suggesting they might be interstellar or technological debris, though others argued they were volcanic rock or coal ash.

Loeb described his new role as a "detective story," emphasizing a national security perspective and cautioning against conspiracy theories. He pledged to share updates publicly and create a website for findings. The Pentagon has already released several files and videos of glowing objects, including some from the Middle East, but maintains no evidence of extraterrestrial life has been found.

The council includes scientists and UFO disclosure activists, such as billionaire Ben Lamm and retired Rear Admiral Timothy Galoudet, who claims the U.S. secretly holds crashed unidentified craft. After their first meeting, the council requested over 50 videos, photos, and documents from the Pentagon.

Loeb's appointment has sparked criticism from academia and security experts. Arizona astrophysicist Steve Desch called Loeb's methods flawed, and Pentagon UFO researcher Sean Kirkpatrick noted Loeb lacks security experience and is unpopular in scientific circles. Nonetheless, polls show eight in ten Americans believe the government knows more about UFOs than it reveals.