Bantval Jayant Baliga (born 28 April 1948 in Chennai) is an Indian electrical engineer best known for his work in power semiconductor devices, and particularly the invention of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT).[1][2]
In 1993, Baliga was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering for contributions to power semiconductor devices leading to the advent of smart power technology, and in 2024, won the Finnish Millennium Technology Prize for his invention of the IGBT.[3][4]
Early life and education
editBaliga grew up in Jalahalli, a small village near Bangalore, India. His father, Bantwal Vittal Manjunath Baliga, was one of India's first electrical engineers in the days before independence and founding President of the Indian branch of the Institute of Radio Engineers, which later became the IEEE in India. Baliga's father played pivotal roles in the founding of Indian television and electronics industries.[1][5] During his childhood his father inspired him a lot. Baliga remembers reading IEEE proceeding during his high school days which were brought home by his father. He graduated from high school in 1963.[6]
Jayant studied at Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore. He received his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1969, and his MS (1971) and PhD (1974) in Electrical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[1]
Career
editHe worked 15 years at the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York. In the early 1980s, he invented the insulated gate bipolar transistor that combines sciences from two streams: Electronics engineering and Electrical engineering. It is a transistor switch that was immediately put into production once invented.
This has resulted in cost savings of over $15 trillion for consumers, and is forming a basis for smart grid. This device is in use in many machines and devices using electricity, from kitchen appliances, medical devices, and electric cars to the electric power grid itself.
He joined North Carolina State University in 1988 as a Full Professor. He was promoted to Distinguished University Professor in 1997. He continues to innovate in electronics, even as an emeritus professor.[7]
He has founded three companies that made products based on semiconductor technologies.[5][8][9]
Recognition
edit- Baliga is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering (1993) and the European Academy of Sciences (2005), as well as an IEEE Fellow (1983).[10]
- He received the 1991 IEEE Newell Award, 1993 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award, 1998 IEEE J J Ebers Award, and 1999 IEEE Lamme Medal.[11]
- He holds 120 U.S. patents.[12]
- In 1997, Scientific American magazine included him among the 'Eight Heroes of the Semiconductor Revolution' when commemorating the 50th anniversary of the invention of the transistor.[12][13]
- In 2011, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest award for an engineer in USA by US President Barack Obama.[5][14]
- In 2014, he was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor, "For the invention, implementation, and commercialization of power semiconductor devices with widespread benefits to society."[15]
- In 2015, he received the Global Energy Prize for invention, development and commercialization of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, which is one of the most important innovations for the control and distribution of energy.[8][9][16]
- In 2016, Baliga was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.[17][2]
- He was the Chief Guest for the 53rd Convocation at IIT Madras held on 22-07-2016. He was awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in the ceremony.[18]
- In September 2024, it was announced that Baliga won the million Euro Millennium Technology Prize, supported by the Republic of Finland. The award ceremony is held on October 30, 2024 in Finland. He was honored for his invention in the 1980s of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), which has dramatically increased the efficiency of devices using electricity, allowing precise digital switching of electricity. The device is used in wind and solar technology, in electric cars, in devices for maintaining or investigating human health, in kitchen appliances and more.[3][19]
Bibliography
edit| No. | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epitaxial Silicon Technology | Academic Press Inc | 1986 | 9780120771202 |
| 2 | Modern Power Devices | John Wiley & Sons | 1987 | 9780471819868 |
| 3 | Power Semiconductor Devices | Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc | 1995 | 9783030067656 |
| 4 | Silicon Carbide Power Devices | World Scientific Publishing Company | 2006 | 978-981-256-605-8 |
| 5 | Fundamentals of Power Semiconductor Devices | Springer | 2018 | 978-3319939872 |
| 6 | The IGBT Device: Physics, Design and Applications of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor | Elsevier | 2022 | 978-0323999120 |
| 7 | Modern Silicon Carbide Power Devices | World Scientific Publishing Company | 2023 | 978-9811284274 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Edwards, John (22 November 2010). "B. Jayant Baliga: Designing The Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor". Electronic Design. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ a b "NIHF Inductee Bantval Jayant Baliga Invented IGBT Technology". National Inventors Hall of Fame. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Revolutionizing global electrification Bantval Jayant Baliga". Millennium Technology Prize. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
technological innovations for a better life. The winning innovations are globally accessible and are based upon ethically sound academic and scientific research.
- ^ Chowdhury, Hasan (5 September 2024). "Meet the professor who just won the Millennium Technology Prize — and $1.1 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ^ a b c Prasad, Shishir (25 February 2012). "Jayant Baliga's invention is a power saver". Forbes India. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "Oral-History:B. Jayant Baliga". 14 April 2022.
- ^ Shipman, Matt (4 September 2024). "NC State's Jayant Baliga Wins Millennium Technology Prize". NC State University News. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ a b Desikan, Shubashree (21 August 2016). "Man with a huge 'negative' carbon footprint". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ a b Pulakkat, Hari (28 July 2016). "Meet Jayant Baliga - the inventor of IGBT who is working to kill his own invention". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "Fellow Class of 1983". IEEE. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ "IEEE Lamme Medal Recipients" (PDF). IEEE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Dr. Jayant Baliga". North Carolina State University. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ Zorpette, Glenn (1997). Rennie, John (ed.). "Fifty Years of Heroes and Epiphanies". Scientific American. 8 (1): 7. ISSN 1048-0943. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
And it may not be too soon to identify a few new candidates for hero status—people such as the quantum-well wizard Federico Capasso of Lucent Technologies (which includes Bell Labs) and B. Jayant Baliga, the inventor of the IGBT, who describes his transistor in this issue
- ^ President Obama Honors Nation’s Top Scientists and Innovators, 27 September 2011, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, whitehouse.gov
- ^ "IEEE 2014 Medals and Awards Recipients". IEEE. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ "2015". Global Energy Association. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ Allen, Frederick E. (6 May 2016). "The Man With The World's Largest Negative Carbon Footprint And 15 Other Geniuses Honored". Forbes. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "IIT Madras 53rd Convocation". Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
- ^ Li, Yunqi (4 September 2024). "This semiconductor transistor is the hidden technology that offsets 82 gigatons of CO2". Wired. Retrieved 17 September 2024.