IGBT inventor wins Millennium Technology Prize
North Carolina State University professor B. Jayant Baliga has been awarded the 2024 Millennium Technology Prize for his work on the invention, development and commercialisation of IGBTs, which play a critical role in energy efficiency for technologies worldwide.
It's estimated that the IGBT has reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by over 82 gigatons (180 trillion pounds) over the past 30 years. This is equivalent to offsetting carbon dioxide emissions from all human activity for three years, based on average emissions of the past 30 years.
The Millennium Technology Prize, which comes with a €1 million award, is an international award focused on recognising technological innovation. Overseen by the Technology Academy Finland, it was first awarded in 2004, and its patron is the President of Finland. Innovations must be backed up by rigorous academic and scientific research and fulfill several criteria, including promoting sustainable development and biodiversity, having generated applications with commercial viability, and creating accessible socio-economic value.
“It is very exciting to have been selected for this great honoru,” says Baliga, who is the Progress Energy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State.
“I am particularly happy that the Millennium Technology Prize will bring attention to my innovation, as the IGBT is an embedded technology that is hidden from the eyes of society. It has enabled a vast array of products that have improved the comfort, convenience and health of billions of people around the world while reducing carbon dioxide emissions to mitigate global warming. Informing the public of this impactful innovation will illustrate the betterment of humanity by modern technology.”
Baliga’s portfolio of 123 U.S. patents includes many other inventions that have also been commercialised. The split-gate power MOSFET is widely manufactured for use in laptops, PCs and servers. And his SiC inventions – including the JBS rectifier and shielded channel power MOSFET – are used in a variety of state-of-the-art electrical power management technologies.
The Millennium Technology Prize will be presented to Professor Bantval Jayant Baliga in Finland on Oct. 30 in an award ceremony that also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the prize. The prize will be presented by its patron, the president of Finland.
Past winning innovations range from DNA sequencing that helped to develop COVID-19 vaccines, to ethical stem-cell research and versatile, affordable smart technology.
