Dr. B. Jayant Baliga
Dr. B. Jayant Baliga, Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and director of the Power Semiconductor Research Center, is an internationally recognized expert on power semiconductor devices. He has spent his career finding ways to improve such devices.
Whenever you flip a switch, you are using a power switch invented by Baliga. The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) is a device that saves significant energy and controls power flow in commercial and industrial power systems. Widely manufactured around the world, it is found in many products, including air conditioners, electric cars, industrial and household appliances and portable defibrillators.
A prolific inventor, Baliga has received more than 100 patents. His inventions include a semiconductor made of silicon carbide that is more efficient than the IGBT and a silicon semiconductor designed to make the power supply to computer microprocessors more efficient.
Baliga is the founding director of the Power Semiconductor Research Center, an international, industry-supported center established at NC State in 1991 for research in the area of power semiconductor devices and high voltage integrated circuits. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the IEEE. He joined NC State in 1988 as a professor and was appointed Distinguished University Professor in 1997.
His many honors include the 1998 O. Max Gardner award, the highest award presented by the 16-campus system of the University of North Carolina, and the 1999 IEEE Lamme Medal for outstanding leadership. In 1997 Scientific American listed him as one of eight heroes in the semiconductor field.For more information about Dr. Baliga's research, see the story at http://www.ncsu.edu/featured-stories/innovation-discovery/april-2008/carbon-footprint/index.php.