KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 26, 2026 – Among the many fascinations humans have about the cosmos is the idea of settling on a new world beyond Earth.

But what can society learn from its past on Earth to build a better future in space? Erika Nesvold, co-founder and executive director of national nonprofit The JustSpace Alliance, will help answer that question, along with exploring ethical challenges awaiting us in space settlements during her University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium lecture. 

Her talk, titled “History Rhymes: Ethics, Human Rights, and Our Future in Space” and co-sponsored by the URI John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service, will take place Monday, Nov. 2. The presentation is on a Monday due to the statewide General Election being held Nov. 3.

Hosted by the Honors Program, URI’s premier lecture series examines the science of outer space. Nesvold will speak at 5:30 p.m. at Edwards Hall on the Kingston Campus as part of the fall colloquium series, “Interstellar Exploration: Journey Beyond Your Limits.” Nesvold’s talk will also be livestreamed on the colloquium’s website.

Nesvold holds several prominent roles in the space and astrophysics realm. She leads The JustSpace Alliance, an organization that advocates for an ethical future in space. Additionally, she also performed astrophysics research at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, the Carnegie Institution for Science and searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Nesvold is also an astrophysics engineer for Universe Sandbox, a physics-based space simulator and video game. 

Nesvold’s lecture will be followed on Tuesday, Nov. 10, by Jamie Sue Rankin, a research scientist at Princeton University. A full roster of colloquium speakers and sponsors can be found on the Honors Colloquium website.

This year’s URI Honors Colloquium is led by the Department of Physics, bringing forth thought-provoking conversations that bridges cutting-edge science and the boundless imagination of science fiction. The series concludes in December with a lecture on achieving the impossible with outer space.

Hosted by the University’s Honors Program, the annual URI Honors Colloquium is free and open to the public. To see recordings of this year’s speakers, or past colloquiums, visit the Honors Colloquium Archives. Sign up here for more information and reminders for colloquium events or by emailing urihonors@etal.uri.edu.