FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jim Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development at the University of Arkansas, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Rankin, an associate fellow of the institute, will serve three years as the director of its information systems group. The institute is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. It has a membership of more than 30,000 individuals from 88 countries, and 95 corporations.

Rankin has been the U of A’s chief research officer since 2010. He came to the U of A from Ohio University, where he was associate dean for research and graduate studies in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology and director of the university’s Avionics Engineering Center.

He has a faculty appointment in the Department of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering. He has more than 30 years of experience in avionics research and design from both academic and industrial perspectives. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and has twice been elected to three-year terms on the Aerospace and Electronic Systems’ board of governors.