Explore Explorer. Scientist.Technologist. Let's spend time together to better understand, make sense of, and put to good use, rapidly advancing technologies and the mindset necessary to apply them. Scroll to learn more about some of the organizations and initiatives I am associated with. For contact information, a brief biography and photographs, or to connect on social media, please scroll to the end of this page.

Below you will find some of the organizations I am affiliated with. Bio, information, photos, social media, and LinkedIn can be found at the bottom of this page.

"People need a sacred narrative. They must have a sense of larger purpose, in one form or another, however intellectualized. They will find a way to keep ancestral spirits alive." E. O. Wilson

"Wisdom begins in wonder." Socrates

Mission Blue - The Sylvia Earle Alliance - Link

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." William Shakespeare

The Aerospace Corporation - Link

“Space is for everybody. It’s not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That’s our new frontier out there, and it’s everybody’s business to know about space.” Christa McAuliffe

John Deere - Link

"It's obvious that the key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life - for 8 billion or more people - without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt." E. O. Wilson

The Big Wild - Link

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." Ralph Waldo Emerson

NASA - Link

European Space Agency - Link

“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew."Marshall McLuhan

STAC - Space Technology at Cal (University of California, Berkeley) -Link

“This I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.” John Steinbeck

Project Explorer - Link

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." Eleanor Roosevelt

Schmidt Family Foundation - Schmidt Marine - Link

“Ocean, n. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man — who has no gills.” Ambrose Bierce

Marine Conservation Institute - Link

Dedicated to securing permanent, strong protection for the oceans’ most important places – for us and future generations.

"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing." Wernher von Braun

The SETI Institute - Link

Research to understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to apply the knowledge gained to inspire and guide present and future generations.

"By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity." Robert A. Heinlein

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney

MARS - Link

Press: New York Times link - Geek Wire linkBusiness Insider link - Fast Company link - QUARTZ link - TechCrunch link

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Martin Luther King, Jr.

eg - Link

EG is the best creative conference in the world.

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." The Dalai Lama

TED - Link

"You're never going to kill storytelling, because it's built into the human plan. We come with it." Margaret Atwood

World Building Institute - Link

Storytelling is the most powerful system for the advancement of human capability.

"There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met." William Butler Yeats

Made In Space - Link

"Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray." Lord Byron

Aquaai - Link

"Thanks to generations of curious, daring, intrepid explorers of the past, we may know enough, soon enough, to chart safe passage for ourselves far into the future." Sylvia A. Earle

OpenROV - Link

Creating powerful new tools for underwater exploration.

"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." Dr. Seuss

National Geographic Open Explorer- Link

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things" Steve Jobs

SiliCon: Silicon Valley's Comic Con - Link

Pop Culture, Tech, Science, Makers, Authors, Artists, Cosplay, Gaming, Comic Creators.

"If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." Theodore Roosevelt

Parks & Tech - Link

"The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others." Robert Baden-Powell

Equality Lab - Link

"You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own." Michelle Obama

The Turkana Basin Institute - AfricanFossils.org - - Link

"Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil" Extra points for knowing the location of this one.

The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Foundation - Link

Residents, business owners, and local government coming together to sustain the safety of our community.

"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." Henry David Thoreau

Jazz on the Plazz by Los Gatos Music & Arts - Link

"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity." Douglas Adams

The National Police Foundation - Link

Conducting scientific research, providing technical assistance and critical incident reviews that help police become more effective in their communities.

"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man." Benjamin Franklin

Zero South - Drive Around the World - Link

Inspiring the excitement of adventure and scientific discovery that humanity experienced during the heroic age of exploration. Zero South is zero fossil fuels to the South Pole.

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. " Ansel Adams

The Royal Geographical Society - Link

Supporting geographical research, training, and grants to support field research and scientific expeditions around the world.

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us." Robert Louis Stevenson

Explorers Institute - Link

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you." Frank Lloyd Wright

The Explorers Club - Link

"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." Mark Twain

Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-reliance, Radical Self-expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No Trace, Participation, Immediacy

Explorer - Scientist - Technologist

In order to realize a preferred future, we must create and foster a positive vision with a mindset of growth and inclusion.

Jonathan is the Exploration Director for the Frontier Development Labs— NASA and ESA AI research labs. He is a member of the John Deere Advanced Technology Council focused on the future of food, fuel, and fiber and serves as the Science and Exploration Fellow at Mission Blue—The Sylvia Earle Alliance promoting ocean conservation through the creation of Hope Spots around the world. He is a member of the Board of Directors of The Big Wild, an organization using AI to monitor and preserve animals in their natural habitat, and is a member of the board of, and an advisor to, several other ocean, space, archaeology, learning, technology, engineering, and education organizations.With over 30 years in Silicon Valley leadership positions at Apple, Adobe, and Autodesk, Jonathan provides insight on the intersection of emerging technologies and social trends, and closing the gap between the theory and the practice of innovation in a world of rapidly accelerating technological capabilities. He advises start-ups, business leaders, government officials, and academics around the world. Jonathan is a creative thinker and respected voice on future trends, long-range vision, "moonshot" thinking, and creating a preferred future.

Photos

Photo by Nick Otto
Photo by Asa Mathat
Photo by Nick Otto
Photo by Christopher Michel
Colleague, dive buddy, and dear friend, Mission Blue founder, Dr. Sylvia Earle.

©2024 Jonathan Knowles