Tribute to economist and eminent explorer Jacques Piccard

Jacques Piccard, the second generation in an ongoing line of explorers died on November 1, 2008. Trained as an economist, he joined his father's operations and dived in 1960 11,000 meters (seven miles) into the ocean. This record still holds and cannot be beaten, as this was the deepest place on earth. Surprisingly, he and his diving partner found life at such depths in the forms of shrimp and fish.

In 1969, he dove with seven partners in the Gulf of Mexico and let his capsule drift with the currents to reemerge four weeks later on the coast of Maine. His father Auguste was remarkable as well, as he was the first man reaching the stratosphere, and thus technically the first man in space, using a balloon. Auguste was the inspiration for Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek and Professor Calculus in the Tintin comics. Jacques' son, Bertrand, was the first man to circumnavigate the earth in a balloon without stopping and is currently working on achieving the same with a solar powered airplane.