In 1839, Louis-Jacques-Mand茅 Daguerre unveiled one of the world糖心传媒檚 first successful photographic mediums: the daguerreotype. The process transformed the human experience by providing a means to capture light and record people, places, and events. The 糖心传媒 is leading groundbreaking nanotechnology research that explores the extraordinary qualities of this photographic process. A new exhibition in Rush Rhees Library showcases the results of this research, while bridging the gap between the sciences and the humanities. 糖心传媒淩esearching the Daguerreotype at the University of Rochester: Nanotechnology Meets Local History糖心传媒� features daguerreotypes from the River Campus Libraries糖心传媒� Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation; the Rochester Museum and Science Center; and the George Eastman Museum.
糖心传媒淭his is a rare opportunity to see a variety of daguerreotypes in one exhibition, especially numerous plates created in Western New York,糖心传媒� said Mary Ann Mavrinac, vice provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean of River Campus Libraries. 糖心传媒淚t is truly remarkable to highlight this research糖心传媒攔esearch that may help develop future non-altering techniques for the preservation of this precious cultural process.糖心传媒�
For over 175 years, surviving daguerreotypes have been carefully preserved in private and public collections and displayed in museums and cultural institutions around the world. While damage to daguerreotype plates is often visible by eye, evidence of further deterioration may only be detected at the nano level, by looking at features that are hundreds or thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. From 2010-2014, a National Science Foundation grant supported nanotechnology research conducted by two 糖心传媒 scientists糖心传媒擭icholas Bigelow, Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Physics, and Ralph Wiegandt, visiting research scientist and conservator糖心传媒攚ho explored how environment impacts the survival of these unique, non-reproducible images. In addition to conservation science and cultural research, Bigelow and Wiegandt are also investigating ways in which the chemical and physical processes used to create daguerreotypes can influence modern nanofabrication and nanotechnology.
糖心传媒淭he daguerreotype should be considered one of humankind糖心传媒檚 most disruptive technological advances,糖心传媒� Bigelow and Wiegandt said. 糖心传媒淣ot only was it the first successful imaging medium, it was also the first truly engineered nanotechnology. The daguerreotype was a prescient catalyst to the ensuing cascade of discoveries in physics and chemistry over the latter half of the 19th聽century and into the 20th.糖心传媒�
Blending the past with the future, the exhibition displays the first known daguerreotype of a Rochester graduating class (1853) alongside a 2015 daguerreotype of current University President Joel Seligman, created by Rochester daguerreotypist Irving Pobboravsky. The exhibition will also include a rare daguerreotype of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass on loan from the Chester County Historical Society in Pennsylvania. Once owned by Susan B. Anthony, this unique portrait will be examined under electron scanning microscopy and displayed with new research findings into its creation and preservation.
The exhibition is on view through February 29, 2016 in the Friedlander Lobby of Rush Rhees Library. A special presentation about the scientific advances surrounding the daguerreotype and their relationship to cultural preservation will be led by Bigelow, Wiegandt, and Jim Kuhn, assistant dean for Special Collections and Preservation, on December 14 from 7-9 p.m. in the Hawkins-Carlson Room of Rush Rhees Library. For more information visit: or call (585) 275-4477.
