By Scott Kirsner, Globe ColumnistCould reality TV’s next big star be an Olin College-educated robotics engineer who lives in Davis Square? Here’s hoping…

Snooki’s potential successor is Gui Cavalcanti, one of ten contestants on the new show “The Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius,” which debuts May 1st at 10 p.m. on the Discovery Channel. Cavalcanti, right, is best-known locally as the co-founder of Artisan’s Asylum, a “maker space” in Somerville that provides artists and entrepreneurs with access to a wood shop, metal shop, 3-D printers, and other tools, as well as classes in how to use them. Cavalcanti also led a successful effort last year to raise money online to build a giant, rideable six-legged robot named Stompy, pulling in almost $100,000. (I wrote about the Asylum last May, and included Cavalcanti on my 2012 list of “Innovation Amplifiers.”)

“Big Brain Theory” challenges its contestants each week to come up with a solution to “a seemingly impossible engineering challenge,” according to its website. Contestants on the losing team are subject to elimination. The eventual winner gets $50,000, and a one-year contract to work at WET, a Los Angeles design firm best known for the fountain show outside the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. (I guess every talented engineer dreams of one day designing water features for hotels?)

Cavalcanti says he spent about seven weeks shooting the show, in and around Los Angeles. In the first episode, airing Wednesday, he plays a major role as the teams try to stop an explosives-laden package in the bed of a pickup truck from exploding. “Big Brain Theory” feels like a blend of “Mythbusters” and “Project Runway,” and it’s a lot of fun to watch if you’re at all interested in how design, math, and engineering can be applied in real-world scenarios.

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