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Carol Cleland

CU Boulder philosopher of science and astrobiology affiliate added to the UAP Science Advisory Council in June 2026 for anomaly identification.

Current role: Professor of Philosophy and Director, Center for the Study of Origins, University of Colorado Boulder; member of the UAP Science Advisory Council (anomaly identification)

Former roles:

  • Faculty, Wheaton College, Massachusetts (1979–1984)

Background

Carol Cleland, born in 1948, is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she has taught since 1986 and directs the Center for the Study of Origins. She took a mathematics degree at UC Santa Barbara in 1973 and a PhD at Brown in 1981, and is affiliated with the NASA Astrobiology Institute, the SETI Institute and CU's Center for Astrobiology. Her work concerns the definition of life, the idea of a "shadow biosphere" of unrecognised microbial life on Earth, and the differences between historical and experimental science. Her book The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life was published by Cambridge University Press in 2019. In June 2026 Avi Loeb added her to the UAP Science Advisory Council for anomaly identification, in a 15 June update to the roster he had announced on 13 June, as reported by DefenseScoop. The council is advisory only: it works from unclassified data, its members hold no clearances, and it has no published charter or budget.

On the record

  • 2026-06-15 – added to the UAP Science Advisory Council (anomaly identification) in Loeb's roster update, and listed among the 12 members DefenseScoop reported on 17 June. DefenseScoop · The Sentinel
  • 2022-05-24 – NPR Morning Edition, in the week of the House Intelligence subcommittee's UAP hearing – "I think that there is probably extraterrestrial civilizations out there." On what it would take for the government to accept a non-terrestrial origin: "I think, for them to concede there was evidence of non-terrestrial origin, they'd have to come down and say hi." NPR

Timeline of involvement

  • 1986 – joins the University of Colorado Boulder
  • 2019 – publishes The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life
  • 2022-05-24 – comments on the Pentagon's UAP work on NPR
  • 2026-06-15 – added to the UAP Science Advisory Council

Part of the Key People in Disclosure series. Verified 2026-10-10. Spotted an error? Reach out.