Summary

  • Star Trek has inspired real-world technology like cell phones and 3D printers as its futuristic advancements push the boundaries of science.
  • Dr. Richard Daystrom, inventor of the duotronic computer system, risked lives with his M-5 creation and suffered a breakdown.
  • The Soong family dynasty's breakthroughs in cybernetics and eugenics, along with their dark secrets, changed the course of the Federation.

Star Trek is famed for its advanced technology, but there are also a few mad scientists who have pushed the boundaries of science and changed the course of the United Federation of Planets. Star Trek science has inspired real-world devices such as cell phones, flatscreen HDTVs, and 3D printers. In the Star Trek universe, however, technology is constantly evolving to meet the needs of a future where humans can travel millions of miles at warp speed to explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no one has gone before.

Among Star Trek's incredible technological advancements Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's Genesis Device. Intended to address hunger and overpopulation in the galaxy, Project Genesis was stolen and turned into a weapon by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). However, despite its dangerous application, it would be unfair to label Genesis' creator, Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), a mad scientist. Carol's intentions were noble, and she never meant for Genesis to be used in nefarious ways. Yet Genesis ultimately failed because David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), Carol's son with iral James T. Kirk (William Shatner), secretly used protomatter in its matrix, which made Genesis unstable. Still, David doesn't qualify as a mad scientist either. Rather, here are some scientific Star Trek geniuses who legitimately lost their marbles.

3 Dr. Ricard Daystrom In Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek Richard Daystrom The Ultimate Computer

Dr. Richard Daystrom (William Marshall) is one of the most important and influential scientific geniuses in Star Trek history, and he was totally off his rocker. Introduced in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 24, "The Ultimate Computer," Daystrom was the inventor of the duotronic computer system used in Federation starships, including the USS Enterprise. In "The UItimate Computer," Daystrom unveiled the M-5, a multitronic computer intended to replace a starship's entire crew. Installed on the Enterprise, the M-5 it had no regard for human life as it coldly destroyed other Starfleet ships.

Meanwhile, Dr. Daystrom was revealed to be as dangerously unbalanced as the M-5, which was programmed with its creator's engrams. In his mad quest to prove his genius exceeded the accomplishments of his youth, Daystrom risked thousands of lives with the M-5. Daystrom suffered a nervous breakdown, and the M-5 was convinced to essentially commit suicide. Daystrom was committed to a mental rehabilitation facility afterward. Yet, in spite of Dr. Daystrom's lunacy, his reputation as a beloved genius was preserved with the Daystrom Institute on Earth and Daystrom Station in Star Trek: Picard season 3 named after the mad scientist.

2 Dr. Noonian Soong & The Soong Dynasty In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Enterprise & Star Trek: Picard

A composite image of Brent Spiner as Dr. Noonien Soong

Cyberneticist Dr. Noonian Soong (Brent Spiner) created Star Trek: The Next Generation's positronic android, Lt. Commander Data, who is his greatest achievement. Noonian Soong is, unquestionably, Star Trek's most groundbreaking genius when it comes to creating synthetic life, although Soong made grave mistakes with his earlier android creations, B-4 and Lore. Still, Data learned how twisted his creator truly was, including how Noonian duplicated his own wife, Juliana Tainer (Fionnula Flanagan), with a positronic android body. But madness ran throughout the males in the Soong family dynasty (all played by Brent Spiner).

Star Trek: Picard season 2 revealed Noonian Soong's 21st-century ancestor, Dr. Adam Soong, was a genius geneticist who created multiple clones to be his daughter before his final creation, Kore (Isa Briones), abandoned him. Adam also allied with Q (John de Lancie) in a diabolical attempt to rewrite the future, and he was hinted at being responsible for the creation of Khan. In Star Trek: Enterprise's 22nd century, Dr. Arik Soong continued Adam's work with eugenics and created genetically engineered Augments. In the late 24th century, Dr. Altan Inigo Soong ed forces with Dr. Bruce Maddox (John Ales) to create a synthetic race from the remains of Data. Star Trek: Picard season 3 revealed Altan rebuilt Data and fused his own personality, along with Lore, B-4, and Data's daughter, Lal (Hallie Todd) onto one synthetic being that became Data.

1 Dr. Ruon Tarka In Star Trek: Discovery

Star trek discovery biggest DMA mistake Dr Tarka

Following the arrival of the Dark Matter Anomaly, which destroyed the planet Kwejian at the start of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Dr. Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) was introduced as the foremost scientific mind of the 32nd century. At the Federation's behest, Dr. Tarka came aboard the USS Discovery to unlock the secrets of the DMA. But Tarka had a more insidious scheme in mind; with the help of Cleveland Booker (David Ajala), Ruon intended to betray the Federation and destroy the creators of the DMA, a race of aliens from an adjacent galaxy called Species 10-C. This was all meant to fuel Tarka's ultimate goal of returning to his own reality, as Ruon secretly hailed from a different universe altogether.

Dr. Ruon Tarka changed Star Trek by solidifying the Multiverse's existence. Star Trek already had alternate realities like the Mirror Universe and the Kelvin Timeline, but Tarka was a renegade bent on sacrificing the Federation to return home. They may have been mad scientists, but Tarka's genius in unlocking the Multiverse in Star Trek, the Soong dynasty's breakthroughs in eugenics and cybernetics, and Daystrom's revolutionary work in computers all changed the course of the Federation forever.