Iowa State College played a leading part during the war in the basic research which resulted in the large-scale release of atomic energy. The Iowa State Board of Education felt that the College should maintain this leadership after the war. Therefore, on November, 1945, President Charles E. Friley was authorized to establish the Iowa State College Institute for Atomic Research.
Frank Spedding was the first director of the Ames Laboratory and he was a strong personality who had a lasting impact on the character and culture of the laboratory.
In May of 1947, the United States Atomic Energy Commission formally announced the location of one of its major research facilities at Ames, to be known as the Ames Laboratory, which operates as an integral part of the Institute for Atomic Research.
Today, these laboratories come under the auspices of the Department of Energy (DOE). The federal government owns the Ames Laboratory, yet Iowa State University operates it.
Ames Laboratory in history
