<P> While attempting to develop a faster method of computation, mathematics and physics professor John Vincent Atanasoff conceptualized the basic tenets of what would become the world's first electronic digital computer, the Atanasoff - Berry Computer (ABC), during a drive to Illinois in 1937 . These included the use of a binary system of arithmetic, the separation of computer and memory functions, and regenerative drum memory, among others . The 1939 prototype was constructed with graduate student Clifford Berry in the basement of the Physics Building . </P> <P> During World War II, Iowa State was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V - 12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission . </P> <P> On July 4, 1959, the college was officially renamed Iowa State University of Science and Technology . However, the short - form name "Iowa State University" is used even in official documents such as diplomas . </P> <P> Official names given to the university's divisions were the College of Agriculture, College of Engineering, College of Home Economics, College of Sciences and Humanities, and College of Veterinary Medicine . </P>

When did iowa state college become iowa state university