Iowa State and Bulgaria have a common bond: This fall, both will celebrate the 100th birthday of John Vincent Atanasoff, inventor of the world’s first electronic digital computer.

Iowa State, where Atanasoff was a professor from 1930-1942, will host a computing symposium in his honor Oct. 30 through Nov. 1. Bulgaria, where Atanasoff’s parents emigrated from, will host a similar conference Oct. 3 through Oct. 7, said Carl Chang, professor and chair of the computer science department.

“This is a very rare occasion,” Chang said.

“Dr. Atanasoff is a giant in modern computing history,” he said. “[It is] appropriate to celebrate with an academic symposium.”

Chang is serving as co-chairman of the symposium with S. S. Venkata, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The International Symposium on Modern Computing will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Scheman building.

Chang called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Speakers include Gordon Bell, senior researcher at Microsoft; Douglas E. Van Houweling, president and CEO of Internet2; George Strawn, chief information officer for the National Science Foundation; and John Gustafson, principle investigator of high productivity computing systems at Sun Microsystems, Inc.

“You can call each of these speakers a distinguished speaker,” Chang said.

Bell and Gustafson will be joined by Elena Poptodorova, Bulgarian ambassador to the United States, in giving opening remarks at the celebration reception on Oct. 30.

At the reception, Bell will show a 20 minute version of a two-hour interview he conducted with Atanasoff, who died in 1995.

Experts on the 1973 legal battle that determined Atanasoff’s computer to be the first electronic digital computer will speak during breakfast Friday of the symposium.

On Friday and Saturday, nationally and internationally recognized faculty will present workshops, Chang said.

“Students [would] definitely benefit from listening to so many outstanding scholars,” Chang said. “It’s the educational process.”

Kiril Boyanov of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences organized Bulgaria’s celebration and will be a special guest at Iowa State’s symposium.

Chang will depart this Wednesday to attend the celebration in Bulgaria. He will deliver ISU President Gregory Geoffroy’s remarks and represent Iowa State at the Bulgarian conference, which will include the unveiling of a statue of Atanasoff.

Atanasoff is something of a national hero in Bulgaria, he said.

As the 2004 president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc, the largest professional computer society in the world, Chang will also visit a meeting of a Bulgarian chapter of the institute.

Atanasoff’s birthday is October 4, during the Bulgarian conference, said Carole Custer, director of university marketing.

Holding Iowa State’s symposium at the end of October meant better access to speakers, hotel accommodations and conference space, she said.

Students can register to attend the symposium at the symposium’s Web site. Admission to the speaking events is free to students, Custer said. The admission fee for the general public, which includes a meal package, is $125.

Chang encouraged students to attend the symposium.

“This is truly an international event,” Chang said. “There’s a country on another continent celebrating [with] a parallel event.”