Septuagenarian Indian-American professor wins $1 million prize for revolutionizing global electrification

An Indian-American professor, Bantval Jayant Baliga, has been awarded the Millennium Technology Prize 2024 for his invention of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), which has helped in a massive reduction in global electrical energy and petrol consumption.

The prize, awarded by Technology Academy Finland, includes a €1 million award (approximately $1.1 million). It recognizes Baliga’s leadership in the invention, development, and commercialization of the IGBT, according to an official statement.

Since its development in the 1980s, the IGBT has been the most important semiconductor device to optimize electrical energy use and petrol consumption while making it less polluting during the last 40 years, it said.

The technology has reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by over 82 gigatons (180 trillion pounds) in the past 30 years.

The innovation is applied in various sectors, such as wind and solar power installations, electric and hybrid-electric cars, medical diagnostic machines like X-ray machines, and several home appliances.

The 76-year-old professor of North Carolina State University, along with his team, are currently working on two new inventions for further improvement of the efficiencies in the fields of solar power generation, electric vehicles, and power delivery for AI servers.

Hailing from Chennai, Prof Baliga earned his BTech degree in Electrical Engineering from the IIT- Madras in 1969.
Prof Baliga has joined a notable list of recipients of the prestigious award, including Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web and was the first to receive the award in 2004.

The Millennium Technology Prize, awarded by Technology Academy Finland, honours innovations that benefit millions worldwide.