# Mark Rober

> Mark Rober is a former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer who spent seven years working on the Curiosity rover before becoming one of YouTube's most-watched science communicators with 77+ million subscribers. He founded CrunchLabs in 2022, an edtech company delivering hands-on STEM subscription boxes for children, and has helped raise over $94 million across three viral philanthropic campaigns (Team Trees, Team Seas, Team Water). In 2026 he invested $60 million to build Class CrunchLabs, a free STEM curriculum for teachers.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at CrunchLabs
- **Organizations:** CrunchLabs, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (former), Apple Inc. (former), Institution of Engineering and Technology (Honorary Fellow), FIRST Robotics (supporter), Arbor Day Foundation (partner), The Ocean Cleanup (partner), WaterAid (partner), National Science Teaching Association (partner)
- **From:** Brea, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University (BYU), M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California (USC)
- **Known for:** Worked on NASA Curiosity rover for 7 years at JPL, Authored patents at Apple involving VR in self-driving cars, 77.4 million YouTube subscribers and 16.9 billion views (May 2026)

## Career timeline

- **1980** — Born in Brea, California
- **1998** — Graduated from Brea Olinda High School
- **2004** — Graduated from BYU with B.S. in Mechanical Engineering; joined NASA JPL
- **2004-2011** — Engineer at NASA JPL working on the Curiosity rover and other missions (GRAIL, SMAP, AMT)
- **2011** — Launched YouTube channel; first video (iPad Halloween costume) got 1.5M views in one day
- **2012** — Founded Digital Dudz, a Halloween costume startup; generated $250K in first three weeks
- **2013** — Sold Digital Dudz to Morphsuits; left NASA JPL
- **2014** — Earned M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from USC
- **2015** — Joined Apple as product designer in Special Projects Group; moved to Sunnyvale, CA
- **2018** — Posted Glitter Bomb video - 25 million views in one day
- **2019** — Co-founded #TeamTrees with MrBeast; raised $20M for Arbor Day Foundation; won Streamy Award for Science/Education
- **2020** — Left Apple; launched Backyard Squirrel Maze video (114M views); hosted 'Revengineers' on Discovery Channel
- **2021** — #TeamSeas raised $34M for ocean cleanup; co-hosted autism fundraiser raising $3M for NEXT for AUTISM; named IET Honorary Fellow
- **2022** — Founded CrunchLabs; won Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year; guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- **2023** — Invited to speak at MIT commencement; continued YouTube and CrunchLabs growth
- **2024** — Received FIRST Founder's Award
- **2025** — #TeamWater raised $40M for WaterAid; Netflix specials released including 'Elmo and Mark Rober's Merry Giftmas'
- **2026** — Launched Class CrunchLabs free STEM curriculum ($60M investment); announced Netflix competition series 'SCHOOLED!'; spoke at TED 2026 in Vancouver; keynoting NSTA National Conference; Moose Toys STEM line launching globally

## Achievements

- Worked on NASA Curiosity rover for 7 years at JPL
- Authored patents at Apple involving VR in self-driving cars
- 77.4 million YouTube subscribers and 16.9 billion views (May 2026)
- Co-founded #TeamTrees (2019) raising $20M for 20 million trees
- Co-founded #TeamSeas (2021) raising $34M for ocean cleanup
- Co-founded #TeamWater (2025) raising $40M for WaterAid
- Glitter Bomb video: 25 million views in one day (2018)
- Backyard Squirrel Maze video: 114 million views
- Founded CrunchLabs STEM subscription company (2022)
- Invested $60M to build free Class CrunchLabs curriculum for teachers (2026)
- IET STEM Personality of the Year (2021)
- IET Honorary Fellow (2021)
- Multiple Streamy Awards (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
- Webby Award - Film & Video Person of the Year (2022)
- MIT Commencement Speaker (2023)
- FIRST Founder's Award (2024)
- Collaborated with Jim Browning to expose phone scam operation; 15 senior officials arrested
- Digital Dudz startup sold to Morphsuits (2013) after generating $250K in first 3 weeks
- Netflix competition series 'SCHOOLED!' greenlit for 2026

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Spoke at TED 2026 in Vancouver to announce Class CrunchLabs, a free STEM curriculum backed by $60M investment
- **2026-04** — Named keynote speaker for 2026 NSTA National Conference on Science Education
- **2026-03** — Netflix released CrunchLabs Season 3 compilation on March 16, 2026
- **2026-02** — Netflix greenlit 'SCHOOLED!' - a science competition series produced with Jimmy Kimmel's Kimmelot and CrunchLabs
- **2026-01** — Moose Toys signed exclusive multi-year global licensing deal with CrunchLabs; toy line launching summer 2026
- **2026-01** — CrunchLabs partnered with Scholastic to publish two books: 'Lava vs. Laser' and 'Extreme Engineering'
- **2025-08** — #TeamWater collaborative fundraiser with MrBeast surpassed $40M for WaterAid, promising clean water for 2 million people

## Links

- Website: https://www.crunchlabs.com/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/MarkRober
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRober
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markrober/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mark-rober
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-19