Jeffrey Knowles ’10

Jeffrey Knowles ’10, of San Francisco; June 7, of injuries incurred in a kite boarding accident. He was a scientist, sailor, musician, and engineer. At the time of his death he had completed his doctoral studies and dissertation at UC San Francisco and was preparing to defend his research and receive his degree. His scientific focus was auditory processing mechanisms in songbirds. He hoped to later translate his findings to similar systems in the human brain. At Brown he was captain of the sailing team, an honorable mention All-American, and an Academic All-American. He competed in the Bridge to Bridge races and was a youth sailing coach. Combining his love of music and surfing, Jeff launched a website called SwellSpect that translated ocean swell data from offshore buoys into sound (http://www.swellspect.com). Before turning to songbirds, Jeff’s earlier research focused on echolocation mechanisms in bats. He is survived by his parents and a brother.