Dr. Atkinson is an Eminent Scholar and Samuel and Fay Slover Professor of Oceanography. He was director of the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography from its opening in 1991 until 2003. He came to Old Dominion University as a Smith Professor of Oceanography in 1985. Prior to that, from 1972 to 1985, he was a research professor at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

From July 1992 to March 1997, he served as chair of the Department. He was an editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research -- Oceans from 1987 to 1992 and managing editor of the magazine Oceanography from 1993 to 1997. Dr. Atkinson was elected a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science in 1990. He has served on many federal and state advisory panels including chairing a Department of Interior science advisory committee that assessed environmental studies in OCS areas. He served on the National Academy of Sciences Marine Board, and was chair of the Board of Trustees of the Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc. He also served as chair of the Fleet Improvement Committee of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System.

Dr. Atkinson holds memberships in the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Society, the Marine Technology Society, and The Oceanography Society.

Research Interests

Dr. Atkinson is recognized for his work on nutrient supplies and hydrographic variability in the southeastern United States continental shelf waters. He has also done field studies off Japan, southern California, southern Chile and northwest Spain. These studies were all part of large, interdisciplinary research programs that are of particular interest to Dr. Atkinson.These studies have led to new understandings of how nutrients are supplied to continental shelves and how water column stability is controlled by advection of buoyancy. His current research includes studies of the climatology of coastal waters and establishment of ocean observing systems.

He was recently funded by the National Science Foundation to participate in OceanUS in the creation of an Integrated Ocean Observing System for the country.

He is now funded by the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration.