Shawn Brown

Shawn Brown is an award-winning engineer, designer & YouTuber. He works on a remarkably diverse range of creative engineering projects - designing and building crazy contraptions; from crazy electric vehicles designed by kids to the World’s first sneeze-activated flamethrower. As a teenager Brown built an entirely carbon neutral, solar powered, electric vehicle, a project that won him the title of 2010 UK Young Engineer of the Year and lead him to initially train as a Renewable Energy Engineer.

Brown is dyslexic and has always struggled with his memory. However, despite significant academic challenges, Brown got into University off the back of his practical engineering achievements, and he speaks passionately about the need for creative, hands-on projects in education. In 2015 he trained as a dyslexia adviser, to raise awareness of learning differences and to help other neurodivergent individuals to obtain appropriate understanding and support for their differences. Since then, he is delivered neurodiversity workshops, training and talks to some of the UK’s largest organizations and businesses, helping them to support and empower those they work with, and to realize the advantages of neurodiversity in innovating and solving problems.

Brown co-presents the YouTube channel Kids Invent Stuff, with fellow inventor Ruth Amos. Every month the pair set a different invention challenge and invite 4–11-year-olds to send in their ideas for inventions. They then pick one idea to build and test on camera; to show the fun, creative nature of engineering and to inspire young people into STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths).

Unusually Brown has both a master’s degree in engineering and a master’s in fine art, and he is outspoken on the value of creative and artistic skills for science and engineering. He consistently delivers practical engineering workshops in schools and combines his engineering experience, his passion for the arts and his knowledge of neurodiversity to inspire young people to embark on exciting careers.