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Liberty Vittert

Washington University statistician and Harvard Data Science Review editor who joined the UAP Science Advisory Council in June 2026 for data analysis.

Current role: Professor of the Practice of Data Science, Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis; feature editor, Harvard Data Science Review; member of the UAP Science Advisory Council (data analysis and statistics)

Former roles:

  • Mitchell Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow

Background

Liberty Vittert is a statistician and Professor of the Practice of Data Science at Washington University in St. Louis's Olin Business School. She took a mathematics degree at MIT and a PhD in statistics at the University of Glasgow, where she was a Mitchell Lecturer, and she is a feature editor of the Harvard Data Science Review and co-host of its podcast. She is a frequent on-air statistician and opinion writer for outlets including The Hill, Fox Business and NewsNation. She was not on the initial council roster Avi Loeb announced on 13 June 2026 and DefenseScoop reported. Loeb's roster updates from 16 June list her, as "Liberty Vittert Capito", for data analysis and statistics, and the Harvard Crimson reported that she joined after emailing Loeb following his announcement. Her Hill byline uses the same name. 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

  • 2026-07-31 – The Hill, "Are space aliens real, and have they visited us?" – "A little over a month ago I joined the UAP Science Advisory Council." On the odds of life elsewhere: "The mathematics of this well-known problem are overwhelming, even if the specifics are a bit hazy." and "As a statistician, I never want to say there is a zero percent chance of anything." The Hill
  • 2026-07-11 – Harvard Crimson – on the council's composition: "Avi has done such a good job at bringing together people who sort of are on all sides". The Crimson reported she was accepted less than two weeks after emailing Loeb. Crimson
  • 2026-06-16 – listed on Loeb's updated council roster for data analysis and statistics. Loeb on Medium

Responses and criticism

  • The Harvard Crimson counted 12 of the council's 18 named members as having Harvard ties, Vittert's Harvard Data Science Review role among them, and reported the council has no budget. Crimson

Timeline of involvement

  • 2026-06-13 – Loeb announces the council without her
  • 2026-06-16 – appears on Loeb's updated roster
  • 2026-07-11 – quoted by the Harvard Crimson
  • 2026-07-31 – explains her reasons for joining in The Hill

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