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Dr. Bertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist born in Lausanne, Vaud canton, on March 1, 1958. His grandfather Auguste Piccard, and father Jacques Piccard were noted balloonists and inventors.
He is a lecturer and supervisor at the Swiss Society for Medical Hypnosis.
On 1 March 1999 Piccard and Brian Jones set off in the balloon Breitling Orbiter 3 from Château d’Oex in Switzerland on the non-stop balloon circumnavigation. They landed in Egypt after a 45,755 kilometre flight lasting 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes. In recognition of this accomplishment, he received the Harmon Trophy.
Poster advertising a Solar Impulse-related event at the EPFL (Lausanne). The personnality of Bertrand Piccard is somewhat put forward, the advertisement explicitely stating that the first prize would be "one day in the sky with Bertand Piccard". In 2004, he co-announced a project, in cooperation with the EPFL, for a solar-powered long-range glider named Solar Impulse. The project is grandiloquently dubbed "Une grande aventure humaine" ("a great human adventure"), and though a few technical improvements are involved in the project, it is perceived by researchers as an over-rated publicity operation, more than a real scientific achievement.
He is reputed for his flamboyant declarations, using expressions such as "the Invisible Hand" (la Main Invisible):
- "I went in search of new ideas blowing in the wind, to try and live better on Earth in my roles as doctor and human being"
- "Consciousness is perceiving one's soul"
- "Welcome to those who believe in the power of dreams and who would like to join me in my exploration of life"
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