R. David Lankes

R. David Lankes is an associate professor at the iSchool as well as director of the Information Institute of Syracuse (IIS). The IIS houses several high-profile research efforts, including the Educator’s Reference Desk and projects related to the NSF’s National Science Digital Library.

Dr. Lankes co-founded the award-winning AskERIC project in 1992 and served as director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology from 1998 to 2003. He also founded the Virtual Reference Desk project responsible for building a national network of education expertise. In addition, he was also one of the architects of the Gateway to Education Materials, a standards-based system for describing and finding educational materials on the Internet.

Dr. Lankes is a passionate advocate for libraries and their essential role in today's society. He also seeks to understand how information approaches and technologies can be used to transform industries. In this capacity, he has served on advisory boards and study teams in the fields of libraries, telecommunications, education, and transportation, including at the National Academies. He has been appointed as a visiting fellow at the National Library of Canada and the Harvard School of Education. He was also the first fellow of the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy.

Dr. Lankes holds a BFA in multimedia design, an MS in telecommunications, and a Ph.D., all from Syracuse University. He is married to Anna Maria Lankes, who is also a Syracuse University alumna. Dr. Lankes has been a member of the iSchool Board since May 2008.