With the social platforms and technologies of the 21st century, more and more individuals are able to participate in scientific research and activities. In ocean conservation, these “Citizen Scientists”, including divers and snorkelers, can help to monitor the health of our oceans.

Image credits: Universal Studios Licensing LLC, Safecast, Foldit, Jacques Cousteau, Ocean Surface Temperature,
Overfishing Trawler, Hypoxic Dead Zone, Clouds over Atlantic, Ham Tin Wan, OCTO23 Technologies, Viccisitudes population by Decaires Jason Taylor, Reef Check.

Jordan began his career with Lockheed Martin Space Systems as an algorithms engineer on a distributed space robotics platform. Shortly after, he created OCTO23 Technologies, an invention firm based in San Francisco and Hong Kong focusing on clean energy and ocean conservation technologies. Since 2008, OCTO23 has developed multiple spinoff technologies and companies such as a modular nonturbine wind energy generator and the BSquares modular electronic platform, which was one of Kickstarter's top 10 funded projects in 2012. Currently Jordan is developing OCTOtalk, a technology for underwater wireless communication and Citizen Science platform for crowdsourced ocean monitoring. Jordan received his B.S. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.S. at Stanford University, both in the field of Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering with a focus on Robotics.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx