Release date: April 13, 1998
Ames, Iowa -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ames Laboratory will open its doors to welcome VEISHEA visitors who want a look at the replica of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), the world's first electronic digital computer. VEISHEA is Iowa State University's (ISU) spring festival that highlights educational efforts within the university.
Ames Lab's VEISHEA open house display of the ABC will be held in 205 TASF on Friday, April 17, from noon until 4 p.m., and Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The original ABC was built between 1939 and 1942 by John
Vincent Atanasoff, a physics and mathematics professor at Iowa
State University, and Clifford Berry, an engineering graduate
student. To preserve the legacy of Atanasoff and Berry, a team of
Ames Laboratory and ISU scientists, technicians, faculty and
students constructed a full-size working replica of the ABC.
Vintage gears, vacuum tubes, drums and IBM punches that
distinguished the ABC in its time were
used to make the model authentic to the original.
John Gustafson, an Ames Laboratory computational scientist and an ISU associate professor of computer science who worked on the reconstruction project, says, "John Atanasoff did for computing what the Wright brothers did for aviation. He was the first to apply electronics to computing. He was the first to invent digital storage, or computer memory as we know it. No one understood, including Atanasoff, the impact his invention would eventually have."
Ames Laboratory is operated for the DOE by ISU. The Lab conducts research into areas of national concern that include energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials.
Contacts: John Gustafson, 515-294-9294
Saren Johnston, 515-294-3474
Last revision: 4/17/98 sd