17 Facts About Bertrand Piccard

Bertrand Piccard FRSGS was born on 1 March 1958 and is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and environmentalist.

Bertrand Piccard was the initiator, chairman, and pilot, with Andre Borschberg, of Solar Impulse, the first successful round-the-world solar-powered flight.

In 2012 Piccard was awarded a Champions of the Earth award by the UN Environment Programme.

Bertrand Piccard is the founder and chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation.

Bertrand Piccard developed early interests in flight and human behaviour in extreme situations.

Bertrand Piccard received a degree from the University of Lausanne in psychiatry.

Bertrand Piccard has since become a lecturer and supervisor at the Swiss Medical Society for Hypnosis.

Bertrand Piccard obtained licences to fly balloons, airplanes, gliders, and motorized gliders.

Bertrand Piccard became the European hang-glider aerobatics champion in 1985.

In recognition of this accomplishment, Bertrand Piccard received awards including the Harmon Trophy, the FAI Gold Air Medal and the Charles Green Salver.

Bertrand Piccard began construction in 2007, and conducted brief test flights in 2009 with Andre Borschberg.

Bertrand Piccard piloted the ninth segment of the round-the-world trip and landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Moffett Field in California on 24 April 2016 after three days of flying from Kalaeloa Airport, Hawaii.

Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard completed their circumnavigation of the globe with the solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse on 26 July 2016.

Bertrand Piccard was named a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Programme in December 2015, partway through his solar flight around the world.

In January 2018 Bertrand Piccard told the Economic Times that in his travels he had collected more than 500 ideas to protect the environment that were profitable from a total of five continents.

In 2021 Bertrand Piccard told Forbes that the foundation had identified and certified 1000 solutions, profit-making for both companies and consumers.

In 2019, Bertrand Piccard set a record for the most miles driven by a hydrogen car without refueling, driving a Hyundai NEXO hydrogen-powered SUV for a total trip of 778 kilometers in Europe, with the goal to promote hydrogen technology.