History of the Project

Eugene Rudd (University of Nebraska), Duane Jaecks (University of Nebraska) and Marvin Bolt (Adler Planetarium, Chicago) started Dioptrice in 2002 by measuring and cataloging the optical properties in a few American collections. Over the years, the data set expanded to include some international collections in England and Germany. Working at the Adler, Steven Lucy developed the database and website, which went live in September 2006.

In 2006, Michael Korey (Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, Dresden, Germany) joined the project, now supported also by the American Association of Museums (AAM) through its International Partnerships Among Museums (IPAM) grant program.

The research was generously funded by the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum and by a collaborative research grant (RZ-50206-04) from the National Endowment for the Humanities.