Bantval Jayant Baliga (born in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

) is an Indian electrical engineer best known for his work in

power semiconductor device A power semiconductor device is a semiconductor device used as a switch or rectifier in power electronics (for example in a switch-mode power supply). Such a device is also called a power device or, when used in an integrated circuit, a power IC ...

s, and particularly the invention of the

insulated gate bipolar transistor An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating lay ...

(IGBT). Dr. B. Jayant Baliga wrote: "Power semiconductor devices are recognized as a key component of all power electronic systems. It is estimated that at least 50 percent of the electricity used in the world is controlled by power devices. With the wide spread use of electronics in the consumer, industrial, medical, and transportation sectors, power devices have a major impact on the economy because they determine the cost and efficiency of systems. After the initial replacement of vacuum tubes by solid state devices in the 1950s, semiconductor power devices have taken a dominant role with silicon serving as the base material. These developments have been referred to as the Second Electronic Revolution". In 1993, Baliga was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for contributions to power semiconductor devices leading to the advent of smart power technology.

Career

Baliga grew up in

Jalahalli Jalahalli is a suburb in northern part of Bengaluru is one of the greenest areas of Bengaluru. It is mainly divided into Jalahalli East and Jalahalli West. Gangamma Circle is the junction between the roads connecting Jalahalli East, Jalahall ...

, a small village near

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. 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 The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical ...

, which later became the

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

in India. Baliga's father played pivotal roles in the founding of Indian television and electronics industries. Jayant received his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

, in 1969, and his MS (1971) and PhD (1974) in Electrical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He worked 15 years at the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

Research and Development Center in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, then joined North Carolina State University in 1988 as a Full Professor. He was promoted to Distinguished University Professor in 1997. His invention

that combines sciences from two streams Electronics engineering and Electrical engineering. This has resulted in cost savings of over $15 trillion for consumers, and is forming a basis for smart grid. Baliga then worked in academic field. He also founded three companies that made products based on semiconductor technologies.

Recognition

*Baliga is a Member of the

(1993) and the European Academy of Sciences (2005), as well as an

IEEE Fellow As of 2019, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has 5,082 members designated Fellow, each of whom is associated with one of the 41 societies under the IEEE. The Fellow grade of membership is the highest level of membershi ...

(1983). * He received the 1991 IEEE Newell Award, 1993

IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award The initially called Morris Liebmann Memorial Prize provided by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award was created in 1919 in honor of Colonel Morris N. Liebmann. It was initially given to awardees who h ...

, 1998 IEEE J J Ebers Award, and 1999

IEEE Lamme Medal The initially called AIEE Lamme Medal was established in 1924 by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to recognize members for 'meritorious achievement in the development of electrical apparatus or machinery.' The medal was named i ...

. * He holds 120 U.S. patents. * 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. * 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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

.President Obama Honors Nation’s Top Scientists and Innovators
27 September 2011, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, whitehouse.gov * In 2014, he was awarded the

IEEE Medal of Honor The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contributio ...

, "For the invention, implementation, and commercialization of power semiconductor devices with widespread benefits to society." * In 2015, he received the

Global Energy Prize The Global Energy Prize is an international award in the field of energy industry which is given for ''"outstanding scientific research and scientific-technical developments in the field of energy which promote greater efficiency and environmental ...

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. * In 2016, Baliga was inducted into the

National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...

. * He was the Chief Guest for the 53rd Convocation at

IIT Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has b ...

held on 22-07-2016. He was awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in the ceremony.

Career

Recognition

References

Further reading