Hubert Newcombe Alyea was an American professor of chemistry at Princeton University. His explosive chemistry demonstrations earned him the nickname "Dr. Boom." He was famous around the world for his "zany, eccentric" public lectures on science, which "were as much performance as professorship." Alyea served as inspiration for the title character in the 1961 film The Absent-Minded Professor.
In 1984, Alyea received the Joseph Priestley award.