Illuminating Genius

Neuroscientist Nancy C. Andreasen is well known for her pioneering work using MRI imaging to explore mental illness and the neural bases for artistic creativity and innovation. She is the author of several books including The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius and is both the Andrew H. Woods Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa and Director of the Iowa Mental Health Clinical Research Center.

David Eagleman studies the human perception of time as well as synesthesia, a condition in which stimulation to one sense triggers an involuntary response in others. A psychologist and biomedical engineer, he is Director of the Laboratory for Perception and Action and an assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.

Saul Griffith is the President and Chief Scientist at Makani Power, a company that is seeking to harness clean energy from high-altitude wind. He is a 2007 MacArthur Award-winning inventor, entrepreneur and writer.

John Hockenberry is an award-winning journalist with twenty-five years experience in radio, broadcast television and print. He is co-host of WNYC and PRI's The Takeaway with John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji, host on The DNA Files, and a contributor to The Infinite Mind. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the MIT Media Lab.

Bill T. Jones, a Tony Award-winning choreographer and dancer, has changed the face of American dance. He has infused issues of identity, form and social commentary into hundreds of award winning shows worldwide. Jones is the artistic director and co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in New York City.

V.S. Ramachandran investigates the nature of self and human consciousness. His work spans the causes and effects of synesthesia and phantom limb pain to questions about visual perception and the brain. He is Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego.

Matthew Ritchie is a painter, sculptor and digital artist. His work combines science, architecture, history, and the dynamics of culture to explore the idea of information, and is featured in the collections of numerous institutions, including MoMA and the Guggenheim Museum. In 2001, Time Magazine listed him as one of its 100 innovators for the new millenium.

Michael York has enjoyed a successful international acting career for over 40 years, creating an impressive body of work on stage, screen, and in the recording studio. As well as lecturing, he is the author of five books, including one on acting Shakespeare.