Associate Professor of Astronomy Abraham Loeb was recently awarded tenure, the first time in recent memory that an astronomy theorist at Harvard has been promoted to that level.

Loeb, who came to Harvard in 1993, spends most of his time studying cosmology, particularly how the galaxies and other large structures were born in the early stages of the universe.

He said yesterday that the tenure came as quite a surprise, since theorists have had little success receiving internal tenure here.

"The statistics were quite discouraging," said Loeb. "The astronomy department at [the University of California at] Berkeley is made of people who came through Harvard and ended up there."

Phillips Professor of Astronomy Alexander Dalgarno applauded Loeb's promotion.

"He is broad-ranging--everyone is really pleased," Dalgarno said. "He's a valuable citizen and member of the department. He is a good teacher and has a lot of students who do very interesting projects."

Dalgarno said it has been "a very long time" since a theorist has been promoted to a tenure position in the department.

"Getting tenure at Harvard is difficult," he added. "It's nothing special against the theorists."

Loeb, 34, is one of six astronomy theorists currently on the faculty.

The department's chair, Professor of Astronomy Robert P. Kirshner, could not be reached for comment. Faculty members said Kirshner is currently out of town.

An Israeli native, Loeb came to Harvard after a four-year stint at Princeton University's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS).

"It was a very beneficial transition," Loeb said of his move from the IAS, which is devoted purely to research.

"I like to interact with young people. They are unbiased and less motivated by egos like adults are."

In addition to leading a research team of seven graduate students, Loeb is currently teaching Astronomy 145: "Topics in Astrophysics," an undergraduate course primarily for astronomy concentrators.

In past years, he has taught the spring course Astronomy 211: "Cosmology," but he will not be teaching a course this spring.

The modest professor downplayed the significance of his tenure, saying simply that his research will continue on its present path.

"It's not as if I reached any important milestone," he said. "I hold the view that tenure is just a tool you can use. It allows you the freedom not to worry about what other people think about your work."

In addition to his examination of the early life of the universe, Loeb studies gravitational lensing, a technique that offers astronomers crisp pictures of distant structures using light bent around the sun and other cosmic bodies close to the earth.

Loeb said he is impressed by the resources at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics, which is partially funded by the Smithsonian Institute.

"It's the biggest collection of astronomers in the U.S.," the professor said.

Loeb, who is married and lives in Cambridge, moved to the United States in 1988.

He attended college and received his Ph.D. at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem