3-22-99

Contacts:
John Gustafson, ABC Replica Team Member, (515) 292-7090
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917


ISU PRESIDENT JISCHKE AND ABC REPLICA IN IOWA CITY

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University President Martin Jischke and the Atanasoff-Berry Computer replica will be in Iowa City, Thursday, March 25.

At 12:00 p.m., President Jischke will speak to the Iowa City Rotary, which will be meeting at the University Athletic Club. At 1:30 p.m., Jischke will visit Iowa City High School and speak to students about the importance of pursuing education beyond high school.

The authentic working replica of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), the first electronic digital computer, will be on display from 5 to 7 p.m. at an ISU Alumni Association reception at the n Holiday Inn (210 S. Dubuque St.). The public is invited to the reception to view the replica.

The original ABC was invented by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry at Iowa State from 1939-42. Work on the original ABC was interrupted by World War II. The ABC was never patented and eventually scavenged for parts. The replica was built to honor Atanasoff and Berry. The replica was constructed over the past three years by a team of scientists, technicians and students at Ames Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility at Iowa State.

The ABC has toured several Iowa towns and communities. It has been displayed in Des Moines, Ottumwa, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities, Waterloo, and Sioux City. Its formal unveiling was Oct. 8, 1997, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The ABC replica and the public displays are being financed by public and private donations as part of the ISU Foundation's $425 million capital campaign, Campaign Destiny.

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