Professor Hubert Alyea '24 taught undergraduates about the wonderful world of chemistry through a remarkable flair for showmanship and an enthusiasm for his subject. For more than four decades from 1930 until his retirement in 1972, Alyea delighted audiences with the concluding lecture of his course which was known informally as "One Hundred Explosions in Fifty Minutes." The lecture earned him the nickname "Dr. Boom" and became a staple beginning for House Parties Weekend for many students (including a large number not even enrolled in the course) who often were accompanied by their dates, as he wove an intricate tale about "Lucky Accidents, Great Discoveries, and the Prepared Mind."

  Although Alyea was best known to undergraduates for his lectures, his many contributions to education and science included:

• Invention of a domino board at the Nobel Institute in 1932 to illustrate chain reactions.

  
  

• Invention of the automatic slide changer for projectors, originally developed by Alyea to facilitate presentation of lecture illustrations. He reconfigured a discarded furnace flue opener in 1936 and his technology was subsequently adapted by camera companies.

  
  

• Alyea was perhaps most proud of the development of a then revolutionary teaching technique4 known as the Tested Overhead Projection Series (TOPS), which he considered his major contribution to chemistry, particularly for underdeveloped nations. TOPS utilized a simple $12 device, along with pinches of chemicals and a means for projecting images of chemistry experiments onto a screen. For this purpose, he devised projectors that cost as little as $36, $15, and even one that only cost 20 cents. Thousands of TOPS devices have been used throughout the world, and Alyea demonstrated the technique in over 70 countries.

  
  

• Walt Disney attended one of Alyea's lectures which led to the development of "The Absent Minded Professor" starring Fred MacMurray.

  
  

• A concluding portion of his famous lecture was what became known as the Old Nassau Reaction:
  

  
    For this demonstration,

  Solution A contains 15 grams potassium iodate per liter.
  Solution B contains 15 grams sodium bisulfate and 4 g starch per liter.
  Solution C contains 3g mecuric chloride per liter.

  
  

  
  As Alyea begins to sing The Orange and the Black, he mixes equal volumes of B+C+A in that order. The solution remains colorless until he reaches the refrain,

  
    While the Ti-ger stands defender of the Orange and the Black.

  
  At the word "orange," the clear solution suddenly turns into a brilliant orange mecuric iodide. Shortly thereafter, as he sings the word "black," the orange solution (more or less on cue) flashes into starch-iodine-- a solid black.

  
  

  A version of this song can be seen as Streaming Video, or downloaded either as Quicktime or Real Media.

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Prof. Alyea's official obituary is archived here, as prepared by the Office of Communications .

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  Special thanks to Lance Herrington of the Princeton Office of Information Technology Academic Services and Don Albury of Media Services for their invaluable assistance in conversion of VHS tape to digital formats for use on this site.

© 2002 Princeton University. Created by Jan Kubik '70. 
.  Last update: Sept. 1, 2002