Cyberfab is located in Crolles near Grenoble, in a region called le Dauphiné. To be more accurate, Crolles is located in the Gresivaudan Valley which is known for having been the first place in France to provide hydroelectric power. It has always been fairly industrial as a result but the focus has shifted from paper mills to high technology. It ranges from semiconductors to software and now even biotechnologies are starting to take root. This definitely creates synergies between the different disciplines and is definitely an advantage when one is developing embedded systems that require a mix of competencies.

There is a new center for micro and nano technologies called Minatec that was just inaugurated in Grenoble; I hope that it will be used as a bridge between research laboratories and SMEs, as up until now the dialogue has been mostly between large firms and public research but there is still a tendency to look at the research and development that comes of SMEs with disdain, even though often times we have to be more creative because of our considerably smaller resources.

In terms of attractions, there is skiing in the winter of course, and hiking or even hang gliding or para sailing. Every year, in September, the Coupe Icare (the Icarus Cup) takes place in Lumbin, 2 miles from Crolles; this is one of the largest events for free flight and it is wonderful to watch colorful hot air balloons, and people with para sails perform extraordinary acrobatics.

There are already many web sites that provide recipes from the area, so I will not attempt to provide yet another one: we have some “traditional” dishes such as the gratin dauphinois, made with potatoes and I also love the tarte aux noix (walnut pie) as a lot of walnuts are produced between Grenoble and Valence.

It is also in this area near the Vercors that one can get creamy cheeses such as the Saint Marcellin or Saint Felicien. Because of the small size of the valleys, we do not have famous wines, but if you go towards Chambery you can get some “Gamay” which is a decent regional red wine and will be excellent with some Saint Felicien on a piece baguette bread.

One new discipline called molecular gastronomy is quite interesting as it allows new cooking methods, new textures, taste combinations and dishes through the understanding of chemical reactions that take place as one cooks…..but still, there is quite a bit of “magic” that takes place when preparing great food.

Even though people can identify the different elements of a great wine, it is still not possible to duplicate it just based on what it contains as factors such as soil, sunshine, the time at which the grape is harvested etc….all get “written” into the wine.

I find the Saphire projet very “culturally educational” as it quickly showed me that we all have very different working styles and we attack a problem with different strategies. This is not only due to the fact that we come from different countries but we also have very different backgrounds. What has been great at meetings has been the enthusiasm and the team spirit and I definitely feel that even if “a political Europe” is taking longer than expected to emerge, being a “European researcher” is already a daily reality.