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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

photo of Jay Balinga

Monday, April 20, 2015 / 10:00 AM, Building 3 Auditorium

Jayant Baliga

"From Medicine to Space: Impact of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) on Society"

ABSTRACT -- Considered the most important innovation in power electronics during the last 35 years, the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) has had an enormous impact on creating a sustainable society by enhancing the comfort and convenience of billions of people while reducing energy consumption. They have become indispensable components in consumer appliances (refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines), industrial manufacturing (robotics, steel-mills), transportation (electronic ignition systems for cars, inverters for EV/HEVs, motor drives for locomotives), lighting (electronic ballasts for CFLs), medical diagnostics (CT scanners, MRI machines, portable defibrillators), financial data centers (UPS), and renewable energy generation (solar and wind power). IGBTs have been used in the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, as well as the Large Hadron Collider. Over the last two decades, IGBTs have reduced world-wide gasoline consumption by over 1 Trillion gallons and reduced electrical energy consumption by more than 50,000 Terra-Watt-Hours leading to consumers saving more than $ 15 Trillion. The American Medical Association estimates that 100,000 lives are saved each year in the United States due to IGBT-powered portable defibrillators.

SPEAKER -- Dr. Jayant Baliga is an internationally recognized authority on power semiconductor devices. Dr. Balinga teaches at the North Carolina State University, Raleigh. He has written/edited 19 books and over 550 publications, and been issued 120 U.S. Patents. On October 21, 2011, President Obama presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor conferred by the United States Government to an Engineer, to Dr. Baliga at a ceremony in the White House with the citation: "For development and commercialization of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor and other power semiconductor devices that are extensively used in transportation, lighting, medicine, defense, and renewable energy generation systems.". In 2012, he received the North Carolina Award for Science from Governor Purdue, the highest honor given to a civilian by the state. He is the recipient of the 2014 IEEE Medal of Honor, the highest award given by the electrical engineering community.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov