Bachelor of science in physics from the University of Lausanne, 1970; master of science in astrophysics from the University of Geneva, 1975; research scientist at ESA's Space Science Department at Noordwijk, The Netherlands; Swiss Air Force pilot, airline pilot and test pilot; selected as an ESA candidate payload specialist for Spacelab-1; under an agreement between ESA and NASA he joined the NASA astronaut candidates selected in May 1980 for astronaut training as a mission specialist; in 1983 it was the intention and wish of West Germany and ESA that on the Spacelab-D1 mission Nicollier would fly as a mission specialist together with (German) payload specialists Furrer, and Messerschmid and (Dutch) ESA payload specialist Wubbo Ockels, but after severe internal discussions NASA refused this option; was already assigned for STS-61K (EOM-1/2), but this flight was cancelled after the Challenger-disaster; from the spring of 1996 to the end of 1998, he was head of the NASA Astronaut Office Robotics Branch; until his retirement from ESA he was assigned to the EVA Branch in the NASA Astronaut Office in Houston; hobbies: Playing alphorn, snow skiing, mountain climbing, flying, photography; currently professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne.