| Mark Champkins | |
| Birth Date: | 1977 4, df=yes |
| Citizenship: | United Kingdom |
| Occupation: | Product designer |
Mark Champkins FRSA (born 25 April 1977) is a product designer best known for his 2007 appearance on Dragons' Den.[1]
Champkins studied manufacturing engineering at the University of Cambridge and industrial design engineering at the Royal College of Art in London.[2] He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an industrial advisor to Cambridge University Engineering Department.[3]
Champkins' design for a line of "self-heating" crockery was awarded British Invention of the Year at the British Invention Show.[4] [5] [6]
In 2004, Champkins won a business award from NESTA[7] and founded Concentrate Design, a company that develops products intended to help pupils to concentrate at school. Champkins pitched the enterprise on Dragons' Den in 2007, winning an investment from Peter Jones.[8]
In 2011, Champkins was named inventor-in-residence at the London Science Museum and tasked with designing products inspired by the museum collection.[9]
Champkins is the author of The Big Book of Celebrity Inventions.[10]
Champkins has been responsible for designing and launching a number of products intended to enhance the concentration of pupils at school. The products aim to help pupils focus in the classroom by ensuring that they stay hydrated, eat healthy food, sit comfortably and are in the best state to learn. The products include: The Bottlecoolerpenholder; a thermally insulating wet-suit style jacket for water bottles, which stores stationery and acts as a reminder for children to drink plenty of water during lessons. The Chairpadbag; a bag that doubles as a padded seat cover to make hard plastic chairs more comfortable. The Food for Thought Lunchbox; which encourages children to eat more fruit and the Lunchbox Cooler; a thermally insulating bag that ensures that the contents of a lunchbox stay cool and palatable before eating. Other products include a USB stick in the shape of a brain which lights up with a brightness corresponding to according to how much data is on it, DIY Reflective Stickers that pupils can cut out and customise their bags, bikes or scooters with, and a range of Anti-Smell Sports Bags, which contains a charcoal odour absorbing patch to ensure sports kits left at school remains as fragrant as possible. In 2008, Champkins released a number of more tongue-in-cheek products, including a Voting Ruler, with which pupils can vote 'yes' or 'no' by holding the appropriate end, coffee Mugs of Authority which allow teachers to silently communicate with their pupils phrases such as 'Put That Down' and 'Stop Doing That' as well packs of Pre-chewed Pencils. The Pre-chewed Pencils caught the attention of bloggers, leading to an appearance on Chris Evans BBC Radio 2 drive time show to explain the invention.[11] Champkins also provided design input to Joshua Silver's Adaptive Spectacles and Imperial College's Body Sensing Network, both of which promote well-being and education.[12] In 2012, Champkins was commissioned by the Science Museum to design Stephen Hawking a 70th Birthday present. He created the "Black Hole Light" which represents the path light would take falling into a black hole. The light alludes to Hawking radiation and also makes reference to a Geissler tube, similar to a neon light, which provided clues about the existence of sub-atomic particles, arguably leading to the field of Quantum mechanics.[13]