Engineering degree from National Polytechnical Institute of Grenoble, 1971; Ph.D. in engineering from the Mining School of Paris 1976; Ph.D. in metallurgy and physics from the University of Grenoble, 1977; research engineer and advisor; from 61 European candidates for the ESA 1991 selection one of six French candidates, but because of a five person limit for each ESA member state CNES had to withdraw one candidate (which became Favier); was selected as candidate for STS-65, 1992; September 1999 Deputy Director of Space Technologies at CNES; hobbies: Downhill skiing, tennis, wind-surfing, archaeology.