Marshall Brain II, founder of the educational website HowStuffWorks and longtime educator at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, was found unresponsive in his campus office on November 20, hours after sending an email detailing allegations against university officials.
Brain, 63, was discovered around 7 a.m. after his wife, Leigh Ann, requested a welfare check. Authorities have not released a cause of death but some sources have called it a suicide.
The discovery came shortly after Brain sent a 4:30 a.m. email to colleagues disputing claims about his retirement and alleging retaliation by university department heads following his submission of ethics complaints.
“I have just been through one of the most demoralizing, depressing, humiliating, unjust processes possible with the University,” Brain wrote in the email.
Brain stated he was terminated on October 29, contradicting an internal email from Stephen Markham, executive director of NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which suggested Brain was retiring effective December 31, 2025.
The dispute centered on allegations involving Veena Misra, head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Srinath Ekkad, head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Brain claimed Misra retaliated against him after he filed ethics complaints regarding alleged misconduct in August over the repurposing of meeting space.
In his email, Brain detailed a series of events beginning with a disagreement in August over plans to repurpose the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program meeting space. After filing ethics complaints through the university’s EthicsPoint system regarding alleged misconduct by Misra, Brain reported receiving what he characterized as severe retaliatory measures.
The allegations against Misra included claims of dishonesty, withholding information, and unethical conduct. Brain stated she had removed him from departmental activities after he raised his concerns.
Following these initial complaints, Brain received notification from Ekkad that the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering would cease recommending students for the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program. After Brain responded to this decision, he reported that Markham initiated disciplinary proceedings against him for alleged unacceptable behavior.
Brain founded HowStuffWorks in the late 1990s after creating a website with his wife that offered simple explanations of how everyday devices functioned. The site grew rapidly, reaching 33,000 daily visitors by early 2000.
“People get on the site and they can finally understand the technology all around them,” Brain told the News & Observer in 1999. “And they can realize that it’s fairly simple at its core.”
The website became a major brand with 20 employees and expanded into publishing educational materials for schools. Brain sold the company to the Convex Group in 2002, and Discovery Communications later acquired it for $250 million in 2007.
Born May 17, 1961 in Santa Monica, California, Brain was influenced by his father’s work on NASA’s lunar lander and Atlanta’s MARTA system. He earned degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and NC State, where he met his future wife.
After selling HowStuffWorks, Brain continued his media career, producing a National Geographic Channel series called Factory Floor and appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He authored multiple books and contributed articles to various publications.
Brain returned to NC State in 2012 to help students develop startups through the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program. Former student Brandon Kashani described Brain’s dedication: “Anytime I had an issue, he would sit down with me for hours and just write, write, write in his iPad.”
Kevin Barry, an alumnus who serves on the Board of Advisors for NC State’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leadership program, described Brain as “a cornerstone of entrepreneurship at NC State” who “dedicated himself to the students.”
Brain’s last words appeared in his email: “If you are receiving this email, you are a friend and colleague of mine,” he wrote at 4:29 a.m. on Nov. 20. “Today I would like to ask for a few minutes of your time so that I can tell you a story.”
