About Dr Jill Stuart

Dr Jill Stuart is an academic based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is an expert in the politics, ethics and law of outer space exploration and exploitation. She is an award winning lecturer and teacher, and a frequent presence in the global media (print, radio, television, documentary). She is endorsed by the UK Home Office as a World Leader in her Field/ Exceptionally Talented Migrant. 

Dr Stuart, Putteridge Park Telescope (2017)

From 2013-2017 Dr Stuart was Editor in Chief of the Elsevier journal Space Policy where she remains a member of the Editorial Board. In 2015 she was awarded the prestigious Margaret Mead Award Lecture by the British Science Association in recognition of her cutting edge research and skill at communicating her research to a wider audience. Since 2015 she has been on the Board of Advisors of METI International, an organisation working on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.


Dr Stuart in a Zoom interview for a forthcoming ‘Space Feminisms’ book, 2023

Dr Stuart is trained in both domestic and international mediation and has done consultancy work for the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. She has contributed to space-related conferences and projects with the United Nations and NATO. She has a sub-specialism in women, peace and security and gender based violence. She also has a sub-specialism in the governance of the global commons including the High Seas and Antarctica. Since 2016 she has been a Trustee of Luton All Women Centre, a domestic abuse charity.

 


France 24 The Debate, April 2021

Dr Stuart’s research focuses on the governance of outer space, including (but not limited to) satellite regulations; the ethics of colonisation; the reasons for states developing space programmes; the history of outer space law; the nature of state sovereignty for objects in space; the regulation of mining celestial resources; space debris and the orbital environment; military activity and competition in space; commercial actors in space; the philosophy behind potential contact with extraterrestrial life; insurance and liability issues; the threat from comets and asteroids. She has secondary interests and expertise in the global commons more generally (the high seas and Antarctica). She is also an established feminist with a background in gender studies. Her media work and publications reflect these interests.


Royal College of Defense Studies, September 2021

Dr Stuart is happy to be contacted with media queries (print, radio, television, documentary) as well as public speaker or guest lecture requests. Recent appearances include for example lecturing for the Royal College of Defense Studies on “Outer Space as a Global Commons”; on BBC Radio 4 on India and China’s lunar landings; as a contributor to the book The Moon: A Celebration of Our Celestial Neighbour; as the subject a the chapter of forthcoming book Space Feminisms (due to be published in spring 2024).


Dr Stuart’s teaching experience and accolades relate to a range of courses

With Alexis Conran at Times Radio, August 2023

an programmes in the areas of politics (government) and International Relations. Dr Stuart began teaching at the London School of Economics in 2004, which reflects her education as a former PhD and also MSc student at the university.

Specific courses taught in recent years include Research Methods in Political Science, LSE’s PPE Capstone Course, Global Politics and Comparative Politics. In 2007 she received an LSE Teaching Excellence Award.

Jill was born and raised in the small mountain town of Klamath Falls, in the state of Oregon in the United States. Her sister, two nephews, father and stepmother live in Maine. After her mother’s death in 2015 Jill suffered from grief-induced alopecia areata and wore a headscarf in public for four years.


Jill first left the US aged 18 to undertake university study, and moved to her current home of Greater London in 2001. Despite being nearly deported from the UK in 2010, she now has Indefinite Leave to Remain. She adores spending time with her husband’s two adult children, and is otherwise child free by choice. She lives in Hertfordshire (UK) with her husband, three naughty cats, one peaceful corn snake, and four very cheeky chickens.

Dr Stuart in the Faraday Lecture Theatre at the Royal Institute (March 2019)

Education

PhD International Relations
London School of Economics  
“Exploring the Relationship Between Outer Space and World Politics: Regime Theory and English School Perspectives” – 2009


MSc International Relations (Research Track)
London School of Economics
Dissertation Mark: 80 (high distinction) – 2002


International Mediation training
Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IIMCR) in The Hague – 2002


BS Political Science
University of Portland (degree completed 1 year early) – 2001


With prior study at:

Semester at Sea (circumnavigation study travel on a ship) – 1999

Spanish language study in Quito, Ecuador – 1999

Franklin University Switzerland – 1998

Southern Oregon University (domestic mediation and conflict management training) – 1998

University of Oregon (summer school whilst still in high school) – 1997

Oregon Institute of Technology (whilst still in high school) – 1996-1998