Couder, André Joseph Alexandre

André Couder was a talented French optical engineer, as well as a distinguished astronomer, who pioneered the fabrication of large telescope mirrors and objective lenses. He served as director of the Laboratory of Optics at the Paris Observatory for more than 40 years. From 1926 to 1968, he made most of the optical parts of several French telescopes, including the biggest reflectors, especially those installed at Haute Provence Observatory. He also contributed to the improvement of almost all aspects of the optical systems of telescopes, introducing new techniques applied to mirrors and lenses (Fehrenbach 1979, 1980; Pecker 1980).