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UAP Science Advisory Council

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The UAP Science Advisory Council is a government-tasked scientific team established in June 2026 to advise U.S. government agencies on investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena. It is led by avi-loeb and was commissioned by the White House, aaro, odni, the FBI, and Intelligence Community members. The council is an external advisory group reporting to the UAP Governance Board — the interagency body (ODNI/FBI/DoW) established in June 2026. All data shared with council members is unclassified; the council holds no security clearance and no legal authority (confirmed by Loeb to journalist Michael Shellenberger, June 16, 2026).

Leadership and Members

Full 14-member roster per Loeb’s June 17, 2026 Q&A (src-loeb-uap-council-details-2026-06):

MemberExpertise
avi-loeb (chair)Astrophysics, galileo-project lead
carol-clelandPhilosophy; anomaly identification
Dr. Richard CloeteData analysis and AI tools
Dr. Omer EldadiData management, AI, and human psychology
tim-gallaudetOceanography
Prof. Robin HansonStatistics and economics
Ross HowardCommunication
Dr. Kevin KnuthPhysics and instrumentation
ben-lammOceanography and biology
Dr. Devesh NandalNumerical analysis and astrophysics
garry-nolanMolecular biology and materials science
michael-shermerStudy of anomalies (designated skeptic/devil’s advocate)
peter-skafishAnthropology
Prof. Matthew SzydagisInstrumentation and data collection
Dr. Jennice VilhauerQuantitative psychology

Note: initial reporting (src-loeb-uap-science-advisory-council-2026-06, src-sentinel-uap-science-office-2026-06) named only 5 members; the disclosure-foundation’s June 14 announcement listed 12 members including Dr. Regina Sarmiento. Loeb’s June 17 Q&A expanded this to 14, adding Robin Hanson, Kevin Knuth, and confirming Ben Lamm (per DefenseScoop, src-defensescoop-uap-science-council-2026-06). Regina Sarmiento appears in the Disclosure Foundation roster but not Loeb’s June 17 list — roster may still be in flux. The White House had not publicly confirmed the council as of June 13, 2026.

Mission

Per Loeb’s June 12, 2026 announcement, the Council’s stated purpose is to:

  • Help U.S. agencies identify the nature of UAPs using rigorous scientific data analysis
  • Develop better sensors and AI analysis tools for the Pentagon’s mission
  • At minimum, identify potential adversarial technology (national-security floor)
  • At maximum, determine whether any UAP has a non-human technological origin (the “biggest discovery in history”)

Context

The Council was announced on June 12, 2026 — the same day as pursue Release 03. It is distinct from the galileo-project, which is civilian-funded and independent; the Advisory Council is a formally government-tasked body. Loeb described the dual framing: “Either we are dealing with a serious breach of national security or with the biggest scientific discovery in history.”

Origin and public website (July 2026)

Per a July 2, 2026 Scientific American profile (src-sciam-uap-science-council-2026-07), the council traces to a personal visit from an odni representative to avi-loeb (“They had me at hello”). The council has no budget beyond member travel reimbursement, has no access to classified material, and works only from archival/released material. The council launched its public website on July 1, 2026, per Loeb’s same-day Medium essay (src-loeb-orbs-fireballs-council-2026-07), with findings intended for eventual peer-reviewed publication.

Upcoming events

  • June 25, 2026: Loeb joins the science panel at the Disclosure Forum in Washington, D.C.

Criticism (June 2026)

A June 30, 2026 AP wire profile (src-loeb-council-profile-ap-2026-06) carries on-record criticism of the council’s scientific credibility from ASU astrophysicist steve-desch (“uses flawed methods to reach wild conclusions… casts doubt on the entire endeavor”) and former AARO director sean-kirkpatrick (Loeb “not viewed favorably” in the scientific community; council composition suggests the White House favors “fringe theories” over “hard science”). The same profile reports that after its first closed-door meeting, the council requested more than 50 Pentagon videos, images, and documents on known UAP incidents.

Conventional-physics candidate explanations for orb reports (July 2026)

avi-loeb published a pair of essays proposing ball-lightning (src-loeb-ball-lightning-orbs-2026-07) and laser-induced plasma (src-loeb-laser-plasma-orbs-2026-07) as candidate conventional-physics explanations for some reported UAP orbs. Both essays, and a July 19, 2026 IBTimes UK piece (src-ibtimes-uap-council-clueless-2026-07), single out jon-kosloski’s June 5, 2026 aaro “mother orb” report as resisting both explanations — tim-gallaudet is quoted saying he “cannot think of any conventional explanation” for that specific case, illustrating internal candor/disagreement among council members over how far prosaic explanations extend.

Harvard ties and roster growth (July 2026)

A July 11, 2026 Harvard Crimson investigation (src-loeb-harvard-uap-council-ties-2026-07) found the roster had grown to 18 publicly named members, of whom 12 have Harvard ties (5 faculty/staff, 3 postdocs, 4 galileo-project affiliates). Unannounced additions: jacob-haqq-misra and ravi-kopparapu (astrobiology). tim-dalrymple (Templeton Foundation president) awaits final approval. liberty-vittert (Harvard Data Science Review editor) joined after emailing Loeb post-announcement. regina-sarmiento’s earlier withdrawal from the initial 5-member roster is confirmed as her own choice over the position’s short-term nature — resolving the prior “roster may still be in flux” note. The council remains unpaid/no-budget, communicates with ODNI/the White House only through avi-loeb and the non-public UAP Governing Board, and its request to declassify 50 Pentagon items remains unanswered.

Sources

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