John Baliga
John Baliga
John baliga was an inventor, educator and entrepreneur. He was a professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State University and director of the Power Semiconductor Research Center (PSRC).
baliga is an attorney and restorative justice practitioner demonstrating the efficacy of survivor-centered restorative justice alternatives to traditional legal interventions as a means of helping crime survivors heal, holding those who have caused harm accountable and breaking cycles of recidivism and violence.
Early Life and Education
A son of prominent Indian engineers, john baliga grew up in the electronics capital of India. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Institute of Technology, Madras and a PhD in the same field at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
His career took him to General Electric Company where he invented, developed and commercialized the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). Its efficiency has allowed enormous reductions in energy consumption for consumer, industrial, lighting, transportation, medical and renewable energy applications.
Aside from his research, he has made many transformative contributions to science education. Among other things, his Systems Education Experiences program has provided internship opportunities for dozens of students from underserved backgrounds. Its systems-based approach has led to the development of a number of innovative educational technologies that have impacted more than 2 million students in more than one hundred countries.
Professional Career
John Baliga was a renowned expert in power semiconductor devices. He invented, developed and commercialized the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), an extremely efficient device that is used in everything from consumer electronics to transportation to medical and renewable energy.
He was a Professor at North Carolina State University and has received numerous professional honors. He has published over 500 scientific articles and 19 books.
Currently, he serves as Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. He leads a diverse range of programs and services spanning ten clinical divisions.
He is also a nationally recognized surgical leader and has been nominated to serve on the United States Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation. He is also a member of the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors.
Achievements and Honors
john baliga is a renowned expert in power semiconductors and has received numerous awards for his research. He is a Distinguished University Professor in the College of Engineering and Director of the Power Semiconductor Research Center at NC State.
He is a Fellow of the IEEE and Member of the National Academy of Engineering. He spent 15 years at General Electric where he invented, developed and commercialized the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) that is widely used in consumer, industrial, lighting, transportation, medical and renewable energy applications.
He has authored 18 books and over 500 scientific articles. He is a recipient of several national and international awards, including the prestigious ‘Lamme Medal’ awarded by the IEEE at Whitehall Palace in London.
Personal Life
When john baliga was a child, his father, a prominent electronics engineer in India, introduced him to a life of learning about technology and science. This passion led him to an engineering degree at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
In his work, Baliga is fascinated by the relationship between a painting’s formal construction and its psychological effect. He slips seamlessly between the real and the imagined, developing surreal visual interventions that convey the poignant and strange nature of memories and personal loss.