B. Jayant Baliga Explained

Bantval Jayant Baliga (born day=28 month=4 year=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.

Early life and education

Baliga 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.^[3] During his childhood his father inspired him a lot. Baliga remembers reading IEEE proceeding during his highschool days which were brought by his father to home. He graduated from highschool in 1963.^[4]

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.

Career

He worked 15 years at the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York, then joined North Carolina State University in 1988 as a Full Professor. He was promoted to Distinguished University Professor in 1997. His invention insulated gate bipolar transistor 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.^[5] ^[6]

Recognition

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).^[7]
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.^[8]
He holds 120 U.S. patents.^[9]
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.^[10]
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.^[3] ^[11]
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."^[12]
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.^[13]
In 2016, Baliga was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.^[14] ^[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.^[15]

Bibliography

!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

Notes and References

News: B. Jayant Baliga: Designing The Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor . Edwards . John . 22 November 2010 . . 16 January 2017.
Web site: NIHF Inductee Bantval Jayant Baliga Invented IGBT Technology . . 17 August 2019.
News: Prasad . Shishir . 25 February 2012 . Jayant Baliga's invention is a power saver . 16 January 2017 . Forbes India.
Web site: Oral-History:B. Jayant Baliga .
News: Man with a huge 'negative' carbon footprint . Desikan . Shubashree . 21 August 2016 . The Hindu . 16 January 2017.
News: Meet Jayant Baliga - the inventor of IGBT who is working to kill his own invention . Pulakkat . Hari . 28 July 2016 . The Economic Times . 16 January 2017.
Web site: Fellow Class of 1983 . https://archive.today/20120802204233/http://www.ieee.org/membership_services/membership/fellows/chronology/fellows_1983.html . dead . 2 August 2012 . . 2012-01-25.
Web site: IEEE Lamme Medal Recipients . IEEE . 2012-01-25.
Web site: Dr. Jayant Baliga . . 16 January 2017.
John . Rennie . Glenn . Zorpette . Fifty Years of Heroes and Epiphanies . 1997 . . 8 . 1 . 7 . 16 January 2017 . 1048-0943 . 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.
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/27/president-obama-honors-nation-s-top-scientists-and-innovators President Obama Honors Nation’s Top Scientists and Innovators
Web site: IEEE 2014 Medals and Awards Recipients. IEEE. 2014-02-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20140224000716/http://theinstitute.ieee.org/people/achievements/recipients-of-the-2014-medals-and-awards. 24 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
Web site: 2015 . Global Energy Association . 16 January 2017.
News: The Man With The World's Largest Negative Carbon Footprint And 15 Other Geniuses Honored . Allen . Frederick E. . 6 May 2016 . . 16 January 2017.
Web site: IIT Madras 53rd Convocation. 21 July 2016. 26 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161226025432/http://web.iitm.ac.in/convocation/node/3. dead.