In 1839, Louis-Jacques-Mand\u00e9 Daguerre unveiled one of the world\u2019s 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 University of Rochester 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. \u201cResearching the Daguerreotype at the University of Rochester: Nanotechnology Meets Local History\u201d features daguerreotypes from the River Campus Libraries\u2019 Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation; the Rochester Museum and Science Center; and the George Eastman Museum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a rare opportunity to see a variety of daguerreotypes in one exhibition, especially numerous plates created in Western New York,\u201d said Mary Ann Mavrinac, vice provost and Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Dean of River Campus Libraries. \u201cIt is truly remarkable to highlight this research\u2014research that may help develop future non-altering techniques for the preservation of this precious cultural process.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 University of Rochester scientists\u2014Nicholas Bigelow, Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Physics, and Ralph Wiegandt, visiting research scientist and conservator\u2014who 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.<\/p>\n