The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer

Jane Smiley

Thursday, 03 Mar 2011 at 8:00 pm – Great Hall, Memorial Union

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley has written on such topics as politics, impulse buying, farming and marriage. She now adds John Atanasoff, the Iowa State physics professor credited with inventing the first digital electronic computer, to that list. Her body of work includes a dozen books of fiction, including A Thousand Acres and her 2010 novel, Private Life; four books of nonfiction; and essays and short stories appearing in such publications as Harper's, The Nation, Vogue and The New Yorker. Smiley earned an MFA and PhD from the University of Iowa and previously taught at Iowa State University as a distinguished professor of English. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. Part of the National Affairs Series on Innovation.
Photo credit: Michael Lionstaer

This lecture was taped and broadcast as part of Iowa Public Television's Intelligent Talk Television. Watch it online: click here.

Intelligent Talk Television showcases recent lectures given by guest speakers at colleges, universities, and libraries across Iowa. The collaborative effort between IPTV and participating institutions provides top-notch programs featuring experts on topics ranging from politics to science to economics for broadcast on IPTV's digital channels and streaming on the ITTV website.

Cosponsored By:
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  • College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
  • Computer Science
  • English
  • National Affairs
  • University Marketing
  • Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)