Who will become America’s next great innovator? Discovery’s THE BIG BRAIN THEORY: PURE GENIUS is looking for the next great technological mind that could change the future. While there are countless shows searching for the next great singer, dancer and chef, there is nothing quite like this on television. Each week, THE BIG BRAIN THEORY: PURE GENIUS presents a seemingly impossible engineering challenge to the 10 contestants. will feature a seemingly impossible engineering challenge to be solved by the contestants each week. Competitors will have just 30 minutes to come up with a solution using their own intellect to complete the challenge. Based on logic and design, the expert panel of judges will determine the best engineering concept and select two captains to lead their team to execute the project. The team with the best design will remain safe, but the losers will face the judges who will determine which member will be eliminated.
“The series features some of the greatest young minds in America. There is a lot at stake within the show itself, and in terms of what it signifies,” said Host Kal Penn, who starred in the hit film franchise “Harold & Kumar” and worked on outreach to young Americans in the White House. “I love education and science. It’s awesome to be part of such an exciting new series for Discovery Channel that celebrates all the amazing things our generation can do through creative thinking, the arts and STEM – science, technology, engineering and math.”
In the first episode, contestants must develop a solution to stop a set of explosives from detonating. But here is the catch: the explosives are strapped to the back of two pick-up trucks heading in a high-speed, head-on collision. With just 30 minutes on the clock, competitors must come up with a proposed solution to complete the challenge. The expert panel of judges will then determine the two strongest engineering concepts based on logic and design. The two competitors with the best plans will become captains and select a team to execute their visions in only three days. Can the captains convince the others to pull it off? Will the concept actually work – or does it just look good on paper?
The team that successfully completes the challenge remains safe, but the losers will face the judges, who determine which contestant will be eliminated.
Other challenges this season include: Creating a machine that can cook and arrange a meal for a group of famished tourists near the Santa Monica Pier; building a portable bunker that can be deployed in five minutes and that is able to withstand fire, pressurized water and high-speed winds from a jet engine; and constructing a robot capable of competing in three different athletic events.
The contestants have varied backgrounds and levels of experience, but they all have one thing in common — the desire to win. The cameras capture the tension and pressure in the design workshop, as well as in the living quarters where all the competitors must deal with each other’s egos and eccentricities.
The winner of the competition will earn $50,000 and a one-year contract to work at WET, the industry leader behind some of the world’s most innovative water-based designed environments and experiences including the nine-acre choreographed lake of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius with Kal Penn
More about Kal Penn
Kal Penn is an accomplished actor and producer. His notable feature credits include “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and its follow-up “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay”, “The Namesake”, based on the novel by Pulitzer-winner Jhumpa Lahiri, “Van Wilder” and its sequel “The Rise of Taj”, “A Lot Like Love” and “Superman Returns.” Known for his role as young Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the critically acclaimed television series “House,” Penn also had a recurring role on season six of “24” and guest starred on the hit series “Law & Order: SVU.”
Born and raised in New Jersey, Penn graduated from the Freehold Regional High School District’s Performing Arts High School, attended the Governor’s School for the Arts, and received a degree from the prestigious School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA.
Penn recently returned to acting from a 2-year sabbatical during which he served as an Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. During his time there, he served a variety of roles, including that of President Obama’s Liaison to the Arts communities, Young Americans, and Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Cinema, Sociology and Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in International Security at Stanford University.