Teaching through history: the preservation of modern French scientific heritage in optics

International audienceWe describe a project underway since 2015 at the Université de Franche-Comté in France where we have been preserving the history of optics and photonics, with the particular aim of ensuring our students are made aware of this rich scientific heritage. We have successfully located and preserved a wide range of instrumentation and archival material dating from the mid-19th century to the 1960s, including some of the first European studies of lasers, holograms, and their applications. We are currently placing an emphasis on recording oral histories of current and former researchers and educators to ensure that our history during the latter part of the 20th century is fully recorded whilst memories are still fresh, and whilst supporting equipment and laboratory material can be found and archived