The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
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Abstract Volume 24
(2019) pp 136-137
Dr. Boom: Hubert Newcombe Alyea (1903–1996), America’s Master Lecture Demonstrator
George B. Kauffman*
Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA 93740-8034, georgek@mail.fresnostate.edu
Published: 4 December
2019
Abstract. Hubert Newcombe Alyea (1903–1996) was an innovator in science teaching and
America’s master lecture demonstrator. A longtime Professor of Chemistry at
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, he served as inspiration for the
title character in Walt Disney’s 1961 movie, “The Absent-minded Professor.” He received the nickname “Dr. Boom.” He joined the
Princeton University faculty as an Instructor in Chemistry in 1930 and was
promoted to Assistant Professor in 1934, Associate Professor in 1944, and
Professor in 1954. His other research interests included chemical kinetics,
chain reactions, and the mechanism of inhibition. Alyea was famous around the world for his “zany,
eccentric” public lectures. In the early
1960s he developed a teaching technique known as TOPS (Tested Overhead Projection
Series). The system incorporated a small and inexpensive kit for what he called
“armchair chemistry,” which yielded colorful demonstrations of chemical
principles, and a simple overhead projection system, allowing for vivid
demonstrations before audiences numbering in the hundreds. He gradually
expanded the system to incorporate teaching requirements in physics,
biochemistry, and general science. His textbooks “TOPS in Chemistry” and “Demonstrations in General Chemistry” were reprinted many times and translated into many
languages.
Key Words: Chemistry and History; Chemical Demonstrations; Television; Movies; TOPS” (Tested Overhead Projection Series); Chemical Education
(*) Corresponding author.
(E-mail: georgek@mail.fresnostate.edu)
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