Professor Cantebarius H. Broom was a Human male who worked as a scientist at the Baobab Museum of Science in the early years of the Galactic Empire. He was part of the researchers who studied the remains of the Great Heep, an enormous self-constructing droid. After discovering that the Heep belonged to a species of advanced machines from another galaxy, Broom developed an irrational fear of droids. From then on, the professor would trap droids in his laboratory and experiment on them before turning them into scrap. Around 15 BBY, the scientist captured C-3PO, a protocol unit belonging to Jann Tosh, with the intent to deactivate him and use him for experimentation. The professor's plans, however, were foiled when the droid's master and the astromech R2-D2 intervened.