Novedad bibliográfica: Collection of scientific instruments

We are pleased to announce the publication of: Jérôme Baudry and Yohann Guffroy (with the collaboration of Ion-Gabriel Mihailescu), Expérimenter, conserver, transmettre. La collection d'instruments scientifiques de Lausanne, du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours, Lausanne, EPFL Press, 2025.

 

Richly illustrated, the book traces the history of the Scientific Instrument Collection of the University of Lausanne and EPFL from the late eighteenth century to the present day. It also provides the first broad overview of the history of physics teaching and research in the Lausanne region, from the training of pastors at the Academy to the technoscience practised at the Federal Institute of Technology.

 

As is often the case, the fate of university collections is highly contingent. In Lausanne, it was thanks to the physicist Jean‑François Loude that these objects were preserved, inventoried, and put on display from 2003 onwards, upon his retirement. Those of you with an interest in scientific instruments have no doubt encountered him at conferences of the Scientific Instrument Commission (SIC), read his contributions in the Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society—or even come across him in exchanges on this mailing list. We are deeply grateful to him for this work, without which our own would not have been possible.

Further information about the book is available here.