Bantval Jayant Baliga, winner of the 2024 Millennium Technology Prize , told TOI in an exclusive interview that he puts his success down to the rigorous training and curriculum he received at IIT Madras. The prize is awarded by Technology Academy Finland for innovations that benefit millions of people.
Baliga's invention, the insulated gate bipolar transistor ( IGBT ), developed in 1980s, is estimated to have reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by over 82 gigatons (180 trillion pounds) in the past 30 years. "This award is coming at the culmination of my career as I am now retiring after 50 years, so the timing is perfect," he said.
Born in Chennai, Baliga lived in Delhi until he was 10, then went to Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bengaluru, before studying electrical engineering at IIT Madras. "The IITs are extremely rigorous and difficult institutions in terms of the rigour of the classroom and practical training... During the first two years we spent a lot of time in the lab rather than in the classroom, so I learnt things other students may not learn. The biggest thing was the extremely competitive, tough climate," he told TOI on Zoom. His father, Bantval Vittal Baliga, was the first chief engineer of All India Radio after Indian Independence.
Baliga moved to the US in 1969 to do a master's and PhD in electrical engineering at New York's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He arrived with just $10 in his pocket. "In 1969, the Indian govt only gave $10 to people leaving for the US due to limited foreign reserves," he explained. It was his first trip out of India and the first time he saw snow. "At that time they were not admitting Indian students to my department. My professor told me later that is because they thought Indian students could not handle the curriculum. I went in and I got a perfect 4.0 GPA during my time there, and then they said, 'Oh, maybe we were wrong' and started letting Indians in."
"I would have gone back to India, but since I was doing work on cutting edge semi-conductors, there was no opportunity to do that in India... Semi-conductors have always had a problem flourishing in India because you needa lot of infrastructure, like good, clean gas, clean water, reliable electricity, and you cannot have any of this interrupted... But there is nothing to stop them being manufactured in India due to the availability of highly educated and capable engineers if sufficient investments are made," he said. The prize will be presented to Baliga in Finland on Oct 30 by the Finnish president.
Baliga's invention, the insulated gate bipolar transistor ( IGBT ), developed in 1980s, is estimated to have reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by over 82 gigatons (180 trillion pounds) in the past 30 years. "This award is coming at the culmination of my career as I am now retiring after 50 years, so the timing is perfect," he said.
Born in Chennai, Baliga lived in Delhi until he was 10, then went to Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bengaluru, before studying electrical engineering at IIT Madras. "The IITs are extremely rigorous and difficult institutions in terms of the rigour of the classroom and practical training... During the first two years we spent a lot of time in the lab rather than in the classroom, so I learnt things other students may not learn. The biggest thing was the extremely competitive, tough climate," he told TOI on Zoom. His father, Bantval Vittal Baliga, was the first chief engineer of All India Radio after Indian Independence.
Baliga moved to the US in 1969 to do a master's and PhD in electrical engineering at New York's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He arrived with just $10 in his pocket. "In 1969, the Indian govt only gave $10 to people leaving for the US due to limited foreign reserves," he explained. It was his first trip out of India and the first time he saw snow. "At that time they were not admitting Indian students to my department. My professor told me later that is because they thought Indian students could not handle the curriculum. I went in and I got a perfect 4.0 GPA during my time there, and then they said, 'Oh, maybe we were wrong' and started letting Indians in."
"I would have gone back to India, but since I was doing work on cutting edge semi-conductors, there was no opportunity to do that in India... Semi-conductors have always had a problem flourishing in India because you needa lot of infrastructure, like good, clean gas, clean water, reliable electricity, and you cannot have any of this interrupted... But there is nothing to stop them being manufactured in India due to the availability of highly educated and capable engineers if sufficient investments are made," he said. The prize will be presented to Baliga in Finland on Oct 30 by the Finnish president.
