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Early life and education

Marshall Brain was born in Santa Monica, California, where his father designed components for Moon rockets.⁵⁶ He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1983, and a M.S in computer science from North Carolina State University.⁷⁸

Marshall taught in the computer science department at North Carolina State University from 1986 to 1992.⁹ He also wrote computer programming manuals and ran a software training and consulting company.¹⁰

Business career

In 1998, Brain founded the website HowStuffWorks.com as a hobby.¹¹¹²¹³ In 2002, Time magazine described HowStuffWorks.com as "an eclectic encyclopedia that covers everything from torque converters to dieting to DNA."¹⁴ In 2002, Brain sold a part of his related company, How Stuff Works Inc., to The Convex Group, an Atlanta-based investment company owned by former Web MD CEO Jeff Arnold, for an estimated $1 million.¹⁵ Discovery purchased the website for $250 million in 2007 and introduced its television show How Stuff Works in 2008.¹⁶¹⁷

In 2008 and 2009, he hosted Factory Floor with Marshall Brain and the Who Knew? With Marshall Brain, both on the National Geographic channel.¹⁸¹⁹²⁰ For these shows, Brain showed viewers how products are designed, tested, and manufactured.²¹ Brain says shows like this are popular because "We use this stuff every day and some of it's so interesting. Like the science underneath it, and how people use that science to make the product and other people make it cheap enough for all of us to be able to afford it."²²

Brain appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, CNN, and Modern Marvels.²³²⁴

In addition to his How Stuff Works nonfiction book series, Brain wrote about robotics, transhumanism, and atheism, including his books The Second Intelligent Species: How Humans Will Become as Irrelevant as Cockroaches (2015) and Manna: Two Views of Humanity's Future (2012).²⁵²⁶ Brain maintained that automation and robots will lead to unemployment for humans, such as 1.5 million big-rig truck drivers in the U.S. losing their jobs to self-driving cars, requiring a government guaranteed minimum income.²⁷²⁸

Brain last lectured at, and was the director of the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program at North Carolina State University.²⁹ He worked on EcoPRT, a new transportation system, with Dr. Seth Hollar.³⁰³¹³²

Personal life and death

Brain resided in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife Leigh Ann and four children.³³³⁴³⁵ He was an atheist and ran the website Why Won't God Heal Amputees?.³⁶ In 2018, he was a speaker during the March for Science, a protest against President Donald Trump.³⁷

Brain was found dead in his office at Centennial Campus on November 20, 2024, at the age of 63.³⁸³⁹ His death certificate described the cause of death as suicide.⁴⁰ Two and a half hours before his body was discovered, he sent an email to over 30 recipients claiming that he had been forced into retirement at North Carolina State after filing an ethics complaint against Veena Misra, dean of the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, writing “I have just been through one of the most demoralizing, depressing, humiliating, unjust processes possible with the university.”⁴¹

Publications

Television Shows

• Factory Floor with Marshall Brain (2008) – Host
• Who Knew? With Marshall Brain (2008) – Host

External links

• Marshall Brain at IMDb

References

1. "Getting To Know…Marshall Brain". Carolina Country. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://www.carolinacountry.com/carolina-stories/carolina-people/getting-to-knowmarshall-brain ↩

2. Washburn, Mark (March 22, 2008). "TV's Whiz on how stuff works". The Charlotte Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93695219/ ↩

3. Who Knew? With Marshall Brain (Documentary), Atlas Media, March 13, 2008, retrieved January 29, 2022 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311623/ ↩

4. "Factory Floor with Marshall Brain". Atlas Media Corp. Retrieved February 10, 2022. http://atlasmedia.tv/production-item/factory-floor-with-marshall-brain ↩

5. "Getting To Know…Marshall Brain". Carolina Country. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://www.carolinacountry.com/carolina-stories/carolina-people/getting-to-knowmarshall-brain ↩

6. Washburn, Mark (March 22, 2008). "TV's Whiz on how stuff works". The Charlotte Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93695219/ ↩

7. "Sultan of Stuff" Archived 2017-08-24 at the Wayback Machine, Rensselaer Magazine, June 2002. http://www.rpi.edu/dept/NewsComm/Magazine/jun02/feature3-1.html ↩

8. "Getting To Know…Marshall Brain". Carolina Country. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://www.carolinacountry.com/carolina-stories/carolina-people/getting-to-knowmarshall-brain ↩

9. Washburn, Mark (March 22, 2008). "He's Made a Career of Marveling at Science". The Charlotte Observer. p. 7E. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93695863/ ↩

10. Manjoo, Farhad. "Welcome to the machine?" Archived 2006-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, Salon, 18 September 2003. https://www.salon.com/2003/09/18/automation/ ↩

11. "50 Best Websites: Information and Reference: HowStuffWorks", Time.com, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020606031508/http://www.time.com/time/2002/tech/best/reference.html ↩

12. Guernsey, Lisa. "For One Web Site, Some Explaining to Do", The New York Times, 24 May 2001. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/24/technology/for-one-web-site-some-explaining-to-do.html ↩

13. Washburn, Mark (March 22, 2008). "TV's Whiz on how stuff works". The Charlotte Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93695219/ ↩

14. "50 Best Websites: Information and Reference: HowStuffWorks", Time.com, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020606031508/http://www.time.com/time/2002/tech/best/reference.html ↩

15. Nilson, Kim (September 2, 2002). "HowStuffWorks sold to vulture fund". Triangle Business Journal. Retrieved January 28, 2022. https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/09/02/story4.html ↩

16. "How Stuff Works : Programs : Discovery Channel: Discovery Press Web". press.discovery.com. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://press.discovery.com/asia-pacific/dsc/programs/how-stuff-works/#:~:text=HOW%20STUFF%20WORKS%20is%20about,derived%20from%20something%20so%20fundamental. ↩

17. "Getting To Know…Marshall Brain". Carolina Country. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://www.carolinacountry.com/carolina-stories/carolina-people/getting-to-knowmarshall-brain ↩

18. Washburn, Mark (March 22, 2008). "TV's Whiz on how stuff works". The Charlotte Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93695219/ ↩

19. Hooley, Danny (March 31, 2008). "Brain Gets New Show". The News and Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93696162/ ↩

20. "Factory Floor with Marshall Brain". Atlas Media Corp. Retrieved February 10, 2022. http://atlasmedia.tv/production-item/factory-floor-with-marshall-brain ↩

21. Hooley, Danny (March 31, 2008). "Brain Gets New Show". The News and Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93696162/ ↩

22. Washburn, Mark (March 22, 2008). "TV's Whiz on how stuff works". The Charlotte Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93695219/ ↩

23. "Marshall Brain II • Electrical and Computer Engineering". Electrical and Computer Engineering. North Carolina State University. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://ece.ncsu.edu/people/mdbrain/ ↩

24. CNN interview with Kyra Phillips, CNN, August 15, 2003. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0308/15/lol.02.html ↩

25. Glasner, Joanna (August 5, 2003), "How robots will steal your job", Wired Magazine. https://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59882,00.html ↩

26. Creager, Reid (December 28, 2015). "Do Robots Own Your Future?". The Charlotte Observer. p. A10. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93694597/ ↩

27. Glasner, Joanna (August 5, 2003), "How robots will steal your job", Wired Magazine. https://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59882,00.html ↩

28. Creager, Reid (December 28, 2015). "Do Robots Own Your Future?". The Charlotte Observer. p. A10. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93694597/ ↩

29. "Marshall Brain II • Electrical and Computer Engineering". Electrical and Computer Engineering. North Carolina State University. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://ece.ncsu.edu/people/mdbrain/ ↩

30. Creager, Reid (December 28, 2015). "Do Robots Own Your Future?". The Charlotte Observer. p. A10. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93694597/ ↩

31. "Welcome to EcoPRT at NC State". EcoPRT. Retrieved February 11, 2022. http://ecoprt.com/ ↩

32. Ohnesorge, Lauren (July 2, 2018). "These Triangle Startups Aim to Innovate Transportation". Triangle Business Journal. https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2018/07/02/these-triangle-startups-aim-to-innovate.html?ana=TRUEANTHEMTWT_RA ↩

33. Manjoo, Farhad. "Welcome to the machine?" Archived 2006-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, Salon, 18 September 2003. https://www.salon.com/2003/09/18/automation/ ↩

34. Guernsey, Lisa. "For One Web Site, Some Explaining to Do", The New York Times, 24 May 2001. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/24/technology/for-one-web-site-some-explaining-to-do.html ↩

35. Hooley, Danny (March 31, 2008). "Brain Gets New Show". The News and Observer. p. E1. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93696162/ ↩

36. Brain, Marshall. "Is God Real or is he Imaginary?". Why Won't God Heal Amputeess. Retrieved January 29, 2022. https://whywontgodhealamputees.com/ ↩

37. Menconi, David (April 15, 2018). "March for Science Returns with Message for Trump". The News and Observer . p. C5. Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93693759/ ↩

38. "NC State faculty member, website creator Marshall Brain dies". WRAL News. November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024. https://www.wral.com/news/local/nc-state-marshall-brain-dies-november-2024/ ↩

39. Denning, Kate; Bakogiannis, Ethan (November 26, 2024). "Popular NC State professor Marshall Brain dies, alleges retaliation for ethics complaints". Technician. Retrieved December 17, 2024. https://www.technicianonline.com/news/popular-nc-state-professor-marshall-brain-dies-alleges-retaliation-for-ethics-complaints/article_152e5c80-ac2e-11ef-8b3f-036ac3c8d9bf.html ↩

40. Gordon, Brian (December 3, 2024). "NC State's Marshall Brain, founder of How Stuff Works, remembered for insatiable curiosity". The News & Observer. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article296186159.html ↩

41. Edwards, Benj (December 4, 2024). "HowStuffWorks founder Marshall Brain sent final email before sudden death". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 6, 2024. https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/12/web-pioneer-marshall-brain-dies-suddenly-at-63-amid-ethics-battle/ ↩