One of Princeton’s most popular faculty members of the mid-20th
century was chemistry professor Hubert Newcombe Alyea ’25
(1903–1996), known for his colorful and explosive chemistry
demonstrations that sometimes burned his suits. Alyea taught at
Princeton between 1930–1972, but gave lectures around the
country and the world and worked to make teaching science by
demonstration with simple means more feasible in developing
nations. Walt Disney’s inspiration for the film ‘The Absent-
Minded Professor’ (1961) occurred while attending one of Alyea’s
lectures, and he invited Alyea to Hollywood, where actor Fred
MacMurray copied his mannerisms for the film. Two of Alyea’s
most famous demonstration lectures are featured here. Alyea
developed his two-hour lecture, “Atomic Energy: Weapon for
Peace,” in 1945, when the horrors and power of the atomic bomb
had just been impressed in people’s minds. He presented the
lecture some 2,800 times in many different countries. In it,
Alyea explains the principles of the atomic bomb