// Dr. Jay Baliga

Big shoes,
small footprint

Dr. Jay Baliga may have the smallest carbon footprint on the planet. His invention of an energy-saving semiconductor has produced a cumulative reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 78 trillion pounds worldwide over the last 20 years.

For his efforts, the NC State researcher received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, nation's highest honor for technological achievement.

Baliga's innovation, called the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), controls the flow of power from an electrical energy source to any application that needs energy. It improves energy efficiency by more than 40 percent in an array of products, from cars and refrigerators to light bulbs, and it is a critical component enabling modern compact cardiac defibrillators. The impact of the improved efficiency of IGBT-enabled applications has been a cumulative cost savings of $2.7 trillion for U.S. consumers and $15.8 trillion for consumers worldwide.

Baliga is a professor of electrical and computer engineering in NC State's College of Engineering.