Discovering contemporary technical objects

The university, a context conducive to safeguarding and promoting heritage "in the making

Over the course of their existence, French universities have amassed a wealth of collections, some of which are little-known or forgotten, and Aix-Marseille Université is no exception to this rule. Samples, specimens, archival documents and scientific instruments are preserved and used within various structures, as part of its teaching activities, but also as part of research projects that are still relevant today. It is worth noting that some of the university's exhibits, which are protected as historical monuments, are also preserved and studied for their heritage, scientific and cultural interest. Aix-Marseille Université has been involved for several years in the conservation and enhancement of its heritage through scientific culture initiatives.

Scientific instruments

Scientific instruments from research structures affiliated to Aix-Marseille Université are referenced in the national database of the Mission nationale pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine scientifique et technique contemporain (PATSTEC).

Drawing up an inventory of technical objects as part of this mission has enabled us to trace the evolution of a corpus of objects and to construct technical lineages. By technical lineage we mean Bruno Jacomy's definition: "[...] objects evolve according to "lineages", i.e. groups of objects of the same type, with the same function and operating principle". 

In the form of a booklet, a technical lineage presents a scientific instrument that was, at one time, a major innovation and gave rise to a lineage of objects and/or research subjects still in progress today.

Five booklets and a variety of fields highlighted

In the course of her collaborations with various research laboratories, Corine Levy-Battesti has identified several technical lineages that can be consulted in French in the Science-o-thèque:

• The history of acoustic resonators, in partnership with the Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique (LMA, CNRS/AMU/Centrale Méditerranée).
• Instruments for measuring radial velocities at the Observatoire de Haute Provence, in partnership with the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM, AMU/CNRS).
• The founding inventions of calorimetry, in partnership with the Laboratoire Matériaux Divisés, Interfaces, Réactivité, Électrochimie (MADIREL, AMU/CNRS).
• Optical thin films: between applied research and industrial revolution, in partnership with the Institut Fresnel (AMU/CNRS/Centrale Méditerranée).
• Tokamak technology, in partnership with ITER (AMU/CNRS/Centrale Méditerranée).
• The technology behind particle physics data acquisition in partnership with CPPM (amU/CNRS)

This series of brochures, presenting different technical lines, is still in progress. It is aimed at students, teachers, and anyone with an interest in the history of science and technology. Corine Lévy-Battesti has written an article (in French) on this subject for the CNRS journal "Histoire de la recherche contemporaine".