[3] Atkeson graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1981 with an A.B.

He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his PhD in brain and cognitive science from them in 1986, advised by Emilio Bizzi.

[4] Before joining the faculty at CMU in 2000, he was an assistant, then associate professor in the department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT from 1986 to 1993.

[5] Atkeson's work in soft robotics helped influence production on the 2014 Disney film Big Hero 6, and he consulted with the film's production team on the design of Baymax.

[7] Atkeson is married to Jessica Hodgins,[8] Professor of Computer Science and Robotics at CMU,[9] and former director of Disney Research, Pittsburgh.