A life of education HowStuffWorks founder Marshall Brain sent final email before sudden death Popular tech educator died in his office within hours of claiming retaliation for filing NCSU ethics reports. Benj Edwards Dec 4, 2024 8:54 am | 158 A view of the Bell Tower on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Credit: Replay Photos via Getty Images A view of the Bell Tower on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Credit: Replay Photos via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe week before Thanksgiving, Marshall Brain sent a final email to his colleagues at North Carolina State University. "I have just been through one of the most demoralizing, depressing, humiliating, unjust processes possible with the university," wrote the founder of HowStuffWorks.com and director of NC State's Engineering Entrepreneurs Program. Hours later, campus police found that Brain had died by suicide.NC State police discovered Brain unresponsive in Engineering Building II on Centennial Campus around 7 am on November 20, following a welfare check request from his wife at 6:40 am, according to The Technician, NC State's student newspaper. Police confirmed Brain was deceased when they arrived.Brian Gordon, a reporter for The News and Observer in Raleigh, obtained a copy of Brain's death certificate and shared it with Ars Technica, confirming the suicide. It marks an abrupt end to a life rich with achievement and the joy of spreading technical knowledge to others. A photo of Marshall Brain in 2022 that he frequently provided to media. Credit: Marshall Brain Marshall David Brain II established HowStuffWorks.com in 1998 as a personal project to explain technical topics to general audiences. The website grew into a major success that Discovery Communications acquired for $250 million in 2007. He later expanded his educational reach through books like The Engineering Book and television shows on National Geographic Channel, including Factory Floor with Marshall Brain. His television appearances included The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America.Brain was also well-known in futurist and transhumanist circles. In 2003, his "Robotic Nation" essay, published freely on the web, predicted that widespread automation and robotics would cause a massive labor crisis by 2050, warning that up to half of American jobs could be eliminated, leading to unprecedented unemployment and social upheaval. Wired reported on the essay at the time, saying Brain predicted that humanoid robots would be widely available by 2030 and could replace jobs in fast-food service, housecleaning, and retail, potentially leading to over 50 percent unemployment by 2055 if no solutions were found to compensate for these lost jobs.Brain's early exposure to technology came through his father's work on NASA's lunar lander and Atlanta's MARTA transit system. He earned degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and computer science from NC State.Brain was popular on campus with students and well-celebrated by NC State as a Distinguished Alumnus. As a computer science teacher at the university from 19861992, Brain focused on improving teaching methods through his "Emphasis on Teaching" newsletter, according to his official obituary. The university also recognized his contributions by inducting him into its Academy of Outstanding Teachers. He joined the NC State staff full-time as a professor in 2012.Kevin Barry, a former student and member of the Board of Advisors for NC State's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leadership program, recalled Brain fondly in a quote provided to The Technician's report: "Marshall was a cornerstone of entrepreneurship at NC State, and a very key person who dedicated himself and was a real entrepreneur, and really dedicated himself to the students."Trouble on campusAt 4:29 amjust two and a half hours before he was discovered dead in his office, Brain sent a final email, obtained by Ars Technica, to over 30 recipients inside and outside the university. In the detailed letter, Brain disputed an announcement made by his boss, Stephen Markham, executive director of NC State's Innovation and Entrepreneurship program. Markham had told staff Brain would retire effective December 31, 2024. Brain wrote that he had instead been terminated on October 29 and was forced into retirement as a face-saving option.The termination followed Brain's filing of ethics complaints through the university's EthicsPoint system about an employee at the university's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The complaints stemmed from an August dispute over repurposing the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program meeting space."What got us to this point? The short answer is that I witnessed wrongdoing on campus, and I tried to report it," Brain wrote in his email. "What came back was a sickening nuclear bomb of retaliation the likes of which could not be believed," Brain wrote in the email. He stated that the accused person "excommunicated me from my department for reporting my concerns to her."Brandon Kashani, a former student of Brain's and startup mentor at NC State's entrepreneurship clinic, recalled to the Technician about how he met with Brain on November 15. "He felt like his reputation was tarnished, like everything he worked for was ruined, and the root of all that was he didn't get any support from the University," Kashani told the newspaper.In his email, Brain wrote that the school's head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering later informed him the department would stop recommending students for Brain's Engineering Entrepreneurs Program. According to Brain's account, this led to disciplinary action against Brain for "unacceptable behavior.""My career has been destroyed by multiple administrators at NCSU who united together and completely ignored the EthicsPoint System and its promises to employees," Brain wrote. "I did what the University told me to do, and then these administrators ruined my life for it."Unanswered questions remainIn recent years, Brain directed NC State's Engineering Entrepreneurs Program, where he mentored students and supported innovation in Research Triangle Park.So far, Brain's death on campus has come as a shock to students and colleagues. Dror Baron, an NCSU professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, wrote on X, "A professor I know died following various investigations. I know the people mentioned here, and call for a transparent and independent investigation."So far, that investigation has not been forthcoming. University spokesperson Mick Kulikowski declined to comment to The Technician about Brain's death or the allegations. To date, the university has not issued a public statement about Brain's death.Barry and Kashani expressed disappointment in the university's lack of public response. "It's been six days now," Kashani said at the time to the school newspaper. "There hasn't been any acknowledgment of mistakes that were made, systems that failed, no resignations, not even a call to celebrate Marshall's achievements."Brains friends and family plan to celebrate his achievements. His wife, Leigh Ann, their four childrenDavid, Irena, Johnny, and Ianand family dog Summer survive him. The family will host a Celebration of Life on December 8, 2024, at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary, North Carolina.If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal or in distress, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, 1-800-273-TALK (8255), which will put you in touch with a local crisis center.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 158 Comments