Travis N. Rieder, a bioethicist and moral philosopher at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, splits his time between teaching at the graduate and undergraduate level, conducting research and communicating with the public.

He’s written on a wide variety of topics; however, his most enduring research interest has involved the overarching theme of “catastrophe.” Rieder is concerned with how to engage in ethical reasoning about our own individual lives in a time dominated by massive, structural threats that are too big and too complex for any one of us to meaningfully address on our own. This has led to many publications on climate change, pandemics, food ethics and even overpopulation — and is the subject of his second book, Catastrophe Ethics.

Rieder’s lecture is presented as the 2025 Edward S. and A. Rita Schmidt Lecture in Ethics. Generously funded by Edward R. Schmidt ’69, this lecture brings distinguished scholars and leaders to Susquehanna to address contemporary ethical issues and foster meaningful discussions among students, faculty and the community.