[1] From July 2008 to June 2012, he was Associate Vice President for Research Cyberinfrastructure and Chairman of the U of Michigan Information Technology Governance Council.
Atkins was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014[2] for leadership in the development of radix algorithms and cybertechnical collaborative systems.
He led workshops to develop the National Science Foundation (NSF) Digital Library Initiative], which included joint programs with the European Commission.
In 2002, Atkins co-authored (with James Duderstadt and Doug Van Houweling) the book Higher Education in the Digital Age: Technology Issues and Strategies for American Colleges and Universities.
[5] He served as chair of a Scientific Advisory Committee for the Digital Media and Learning program for the MacArthur Foundation, chair of an international panel to review the UK Research Councils e-Science Programmes, as a member of a task force to draft the Obama administration's National Educational Technology Plan 2010, and as an expert witness to the FCC National Broadband Plan.