Simon Brooks

Activist, Concerned citizen, Consultant, Engineer, Environmentalist, Idea generator, Inventor, Scientist, Student

Simon Brooks is an Engineer at Ramboll and a Sustainable Engineering Masters student at Villanova University with intentions to pursue a PhD in Sustainable Engineering. Upon graduating with a bachelors of science in chemical engineering from Villanova in 2021, Simon was named the recipient of the Villanova's College of Engineering Robert D. Lynch Award, the college's highest undergraduate honor. Simon was also named one of Villanova's first Grand Challenge Scholars, where he now is a board leader of the GCSP Alumni Organization. Simon is a lead organizer of TEDxVillanovaU and former Co-President of the organization. He also co-hosted of their 2021 Solve for Why conference. Simon was a co-presenter at Villanova's MLK Jr. Freedom School Sessions with his talk titled, "The Misremembering of American History: The Story of America's Moral Decay." His Medium publication touches on the urgent need for prosecutorial reform. His research publications focus on advances in CO2 capture materials in Blue Hydrogen applications. Most recently, Simon was lead editor of Darryl Reynolds' book, "What if the World Stopped Complaining about Mondays?" based off the TEDxVillanovaU Talk "I Can Move Mountains." Simon is a co-founder of Villanova's Engineering Well-Being Committee. He has served as an active committee member for diversity, equity, inclusion, mental health, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and community health and safety initiatives at Villanova. Simon also serves as the Mentorship Chair on Villanova's Engineering Entrepreneurship Summer Institute Alumni Mentorship Board. In his free time, Simon plays classical piano and guitar, enjoys strategy games, plays competitive volleyball, and continues to advise his former research team on sustainable engineering ideas for emerging chemicals of concern and CO2 capture.

Sustainability and renewable energy, psychology, mental health and well-being, racial equality, LGBTQIA+ acceptance, allyship with those on the autism spectrum, criminal justice reform, mindfulness, education reform, engineers in policy, sharing ideas and learning from others, and alternative schooling (I was homeschooled and it was the best thing that ever happened to me).

How a perspective shift can improve mental health: exploring the Pygmalion Effect and Truth Default Theory to target negative thoughts. Our brains work in complicated ways. Thankfully, we have models that are supported with research and hard evidence that reveal bits about our logical growth and emotional responses. One of these models happens to align perfectly with a supported theory, and when you analyze the two of them together, in a way that nobody has done before, you can see that how we interact with others as a member of their sphere of influence is the same way we process information within ourselves, influencing our own vision of who we are. Mental well-being is intrinsically connected and interdependent with why we believe certain thoughts over others. With greater recognition of just how human it is to be operating in this way, we can better understand why we have the negative thoughts that we do, and begin to conceptualize a way in which the true and happy self can obtain control of the process in a healthy and purely mental capacity. The struggle of mental health and well-being can be mitigated and prevented with proper educational and logical comprehension of our own minds' operating system, strengthening our perception of power and healthy living through Truth Default Theory and the Pygmalion Effect.

Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Leadership, Mentorship, Organizational Structure, Pedagogy, Research, Sustainability, Sustainable Consulting, Sustainable Education Pedagogy, Well-Being

As a child, I would watch TED Talks with my mother every night. I have always preferred TED Talks as a learning method and communication platform. I did a TED Talk-inspired senior project in high school on the importance of religion, and I wanted to continue to grow in TED at Villanova University. After helping to run TEDxVillanovaU: The Struggle to Stay Human (2020), I became the co-president of TEDxVillanovaU and was a lead organizer and host of TEDxVillanovaU: Solve for Why (Mar. 2021). I now assist Villanova with continuing the TEDxVillanovaU student organization, curating talks, and coordinating events.

People don't know that I am good at classical piano! I took lessons for 13 years, and I love performing Chopin.