Matthew Szydagis
Associate Professor of Physics, University at Albany; co-lead of UAlbany Project X
- Official Statement
UAP Science Advisory Council Formed to Support Trump Administration's New Interagency UAP Governance Board
Harvard University theoretical physicist and Professor of Science Avi Loeb announced the formation of a new UAP Science Advisory Council on or around June 17, 2026, disclosing early details to DefenseScoop. The multidisciplinary council, comprising twelve named expert researchers spanning physical sciences, biology, psychology, and anthropology, is chartered to provide scientific guidance to the U.S. government's unidentified anomalous phenomena investigations and to advise on whether unexplained sightings constitute national security threats or represent novel discoveries. The council will report to a newly established interagency UAP Governance Board, co-established by ODNI, the FBI, and the Department of Defense, which held its first meeting on June 16, 2026. The council's formation follows President Donald Trump's February 2026 directive instructing the Defense Secretary and relevant agencies to begin identifying and releasing government files related to UAP, aliens, and UFOs. Three batches of UAP files were released under that initiative on May 8, May 22, and June 12, 2026. AARO Director Jon Kosloski signed the most recent report, dated June 5, 2026, which described law enforcement officials observing an orange "mother" orb launching smaller red orbs during two days in October 2023, with approximately 40 percent of reported phenomena remaining unresolved. All data provided to the science council will be unclassified.
- Official Statement
University at Albany Physicists Launch Endowed UAP Research Program "UAlbany Project X"
Physicists at the University at Albany, New York, have announced the launch of UAlbany Project X (UAPx), a formally endowed, university-backed scientific research program dedicated to the long-term study of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The initiative is led by professors Kevin Knuth, Matthew Szydagis, and Cecilia Levy, and was made possible by a multi-year endowment gift from Albany-area businessman Tony Gorman, which the team states will fund operations for at least five years and support the program in perpetuity thereafter. The project was officially launched in November 2025 and was reported by The Debrief on December 2, 2025. UAlbany Project X is described as the direct academic continuation of the original nonprofit UAPx organization, which conducted a 2021 field expedition over the Santa Catalina Channel — the site of the 2004 USS Nimitz "Tic Tac" encounter — collecting optical, infrared, and other sensor data. That expedition's findings were subsequently published in the peer-reviewed journal Progress in Aerospace Sciences in 2025, co-authored by Szydagis, Knuth, and Levy. The new university program plans to expand data collection using camera arrays, diffraction gratings for spectral analysis, and magnetic and electric field instrumentation, while also increasing peer-reviewed publication output. Physicist Eric W. Davis has been named as a volunteer adjunct researcher in an advisory capacity.