BBC Worldwide

The Genius Behind

Original

GEOFF RAISMAN, CHAIR OF NEURAL REGENERATION – UCL

“Nothing can give me greater feeling than what I have done...no amount of money.”


The frontiers of science and technology are being broken constantly. From behind closed doors, individuals are pursuing their convictions in search of the next breakthrough. But what inspires the pursuit?

Now in its third series, we conceived ‘The Genius Behind' as a means of making these stories accessible to a new audience. To pull them from behind closed doors, to strip them of complexity and make them relevant.

Series 1 and 2 followed a selection of twelve individuals - from a twelve-year-old high school kid inspired out of sheer boredom, to an eighty-year-old neurologist in the twilight of his career. We explored subjects as diverse as the world's fastest car and enabling the blind to see again - we could have never imagined at the beginning where ‘The Genius Behind' was going to take us and the people we would meet along the way.

Searching for the Dark Matter Particle

Katherine Freese


“The discovery of the dark matter particle would be like the discovery that the world isn’t flat.”

Searching for the Dark Matter Particle

Discovering a Cave Frozen in Time

Francesco Sauro


“I don’t want to just explore, I want to find something that is new for human knowledge, something that is unexpected.”

Discovering a Cave Frozen in Time

Broadcast on BBC World News the films reached a weekly audience of 85 million globally. The films were also featured on the BBC Future website and shared widely through a variety of social media platforms. The series provoked a powerful audience response and provide a fantastic example of effective branded content.

Printing a Robotic Arm

Easton Lachappelle


“What I’m making in my bedroom could potentially change somebody’s life.”

Printing a Robotic Arm

Creating Drought Tolerant Crops

jill farrant


“To know that I can help solve the food crisis on my continent is what really drives me every day.”

Creating Draught Tolerant Crops

Landing on Comet 67P

Stephen ulamec


“Looking for a comet, it contains the origin of our solar system and to find this out, I think is a very human desire.”

Landing on Comet 67P

Repairing Spinal Cord Injury

Geoffrey Raisman


“Nothing can give me more satisfaction than what I’ve done. It’s deeper what drives you, its the sense of wonder at nature.”

Repairing Spinal Cord Injury

Google Maps

Trekking the Khumbu


Kew Gardens

The Future of Taxonomy