Episode 4 of Decoding Genius, a podcast series by General Eelectric that asks what is a genius and how you become one, is available now for download from decodinggenius.com.au or via iTunes
Doctor Jordan Nguyen is a name not many Australians may have heard before, but his creations are impacting people's lives in ways we can't imagine.
This young Australian biomedical engineering genius is setting his sights high: "My big goal is to improve as many lives as I can while I'm here, and hopefully beyond," Dr Nguyen says.
He aims to achieve this ambitious goal by bringing physical freedom to the disabled, and explains how he plans to do this in the latest episode of the podcast series, Decoding Genius.
Dr Nguyen has already made massive advances in the field of biomedical engineering, creating a mind-controlled wheelchair and developing a car that can be driven using only sight. He was recently recognised with a nomination in the NSW category for Australian of the Year, pitting him against Stan Grant, Turia Pitt, and eventual state winner Deng Adut.
More than 12,000 Australians suffer from a spinal cord injury, with many more suffering from genetic disabilities which see them confined to a wheelchair; Dr Nguyen wants to give them the capability for greater movement.
His journey to make a difference for people with physical disabilities began when he nearly paralysed himself diving into a friend's pool.
While he did not break his spine, the thought of the potential physical limitations he could have faced drove him to explore ways to give the paralysed – paraplegics and quadriplegics – physical freedom, after asking himself the question, "How would I get around if I can't physically move?"
"It was the turning point in my life," Dr Nguyen says.
He sought out and began to meet people living with severe physical disabilities, to try and understand the challenges they faced in moving.
"I started learning about what was out there, putting myself in the shoes of those who would use wheelchairs, or any of the assisted technology I could find at the time, which was very limited," he says, adding that there was very little available for these people, and he wanted to create something that would give them their freedom back.
"I wanted to advance the research towards a thought-controlled wheelchair," Dr Nguyen says.
Utilising his robotics skills, Dr Nguyen combined a computer program that recognises the patterns in the brainwaves of different thoughts with a wheelchair he created that uses stereoscopic cameras – which can see through walls and in 3D – to map out the area, so "you think where you want to go, and the wheelchair takes you there safely".
When the wheelchair began to move for the first time Nguyen said he was blown away.
"Oh my god, I can't believe this works," he says now. "This is so Professor X."
Jordan Nguyen is doing more than just giving severely paralysed people in wheelchairs the freedom of movement, he fulfilling lifelong dreams.
His motivation to invent the sight-controlled car came from Riley Saban, a young boy with cerebral palsy and a huge dream to drive a car. Riley speaks through a computer that he controls through his eyes, and Dr Nguyen created a headband that picks up on the movement of Riley's eyes, transfers that data to a computer, which in turn controls a car that allowed Riley – who is only 13 – to drive.
"We basically formed a bridge between the car and Riley's eyes," Nguyen explains.
"I felt independent," Riley said after driving, "I felt in control."
Dr Nguyen is an Australian changing lives for the better, and one of a number of geniuses profiled in the podcast series Decoding Genius. To find out more about geniuses, and the impacts they are making, listen to the latest episode below, and download or subscribe to the podcast.
The Decoding Genius podcast was produced by Made by Fairfax in partnership with GE.