Scienceאבי לייב

Avi Loeb

Avi Loeb is an Israeli-American astrophysicist and Harvard professor known for work on the early universe and black holes and for claims about possible alien technology.

born 1962Research on the first starsClaims about ʻOumuamua as alien craftFounding the Galileo ProjectHarvard Black Hole Initiative

Born: 26 February 1962, Beit Hanan
Occupation: astrophysicist, university teacher, ufologist
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Founded: The Galileo Project

Avi Loeb was born in 1962 in Beit Hanan

Avi Loeb was born in 1962 in the moshav Beit Hanan, where his parents were farmers. As a child he liked to read philosophy books.

He joined the Talpiot program in the IDF. Through it he earned a BSc in physics and mathematics in 1983, an MSc in physics in 1985 and a PhD in plasma physics in 1986, all at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He did research at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center.

From 1988 to 1993 he was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, where he turned to theoretical astrophysics. In 1993 he joined Harvard's astronomy department and received tenure in 1996. He chaired the department from 2011, directed the Institute for Theory and Computation from 2007 and founded the Black Hole Initiative in 2016.

His research covers the first stars, reionization and black holes. Since 2017 he has argued that objects such as ʻOumuamua may be alien craft, claims that other scientists have widely rejected. In 2021 he founded the Galileo Project and published the book Extraterrestrial.

Avi Loeb's life in 9 milestones

1962
Born in Beit Hanan.
1986
Earned a PhD in plasma physics at the Hebrew University.
1993
Joined the Harvard astronomy department.
1996
Received tenure at Harvard.
2002
Received a Guggenheim Fellowship.
2011
Became chair of Harvard's astronomy department.
2016
Founded Harvard's Black Hole Initiative.
2018
Proposed that ʻOumuamua could be an artificial solar sail.
2021
Founded the Galileo Project.

Avi Loeb served in Talpiot Program

He served in the IDF in the Talpiot program from age 18, earning his degrees through it. During his service he worked at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center on electromagnetic propulsion.

Talpiot Program