Senior Research Scientist
David J. Atkinson is a Senior Research Scientist in the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. His research focuses on trust and autonomous systems, human-robot interaction, intelligent system architectures and related topics. Previously, he has been on assignment with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) in Tokyo, Japan as program manager for information sciences in Pan-Asia. He also created and directed a portfolio of research grants in artificial intelligence for AFOSR in the United States. Prior to joining IHMC, he worked 20 years at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the lead NASA Center responsible for robotic space exploration missions. At NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, he served as Deputy Program Executive of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program which successfully carried out the LRO and LCROSS lunar missions. Prior to his assignment at NASA Headquarters, Atkinson was responsible for JPL's systems engineering contributions to NASA's Constellation Program to explore the Moon and Mars. He also led a cross-agency NASA team of computer scientists that provided engineering studies, requirements development and core engineering processes for Constellation. At JPL, his work spanned basic and applied research in artificial intelligence and robotics to senior executive management. He managed JPL's Information Technologies and Software Systems Division, one the largest at JPL with responsibility for basic research, development and operations of mission flight software and ground systems and control centers. Earlier, Atkinson helped found NASA's basic research programs in artificial intelligence and robotics, proposed and carried out innovative research resulting in numerous publications and inventions, and supervised research projects at JPL and partner institutions in these areas. During a brief sojourn from his career in space exploration, in 1995 Atkinson founded a successful startup which was later acquired by IHS (NYSE: IHS) in 2008. PCNAlert.com became the leading provider to the electronics industry of Internet-based component event management data, solutions and applications that enable original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and electronic manufacturing service (EMS) providers to proactively monitor and manage the many components that comprise their end products. Atkinson received the Doctor of Technology (D. Tech) in Computer Systems Engineering from Chalmers University of Sweden in Göteborg, Sweden and was named a Docent. He was awarded the Master of Science (M.S) and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) degrees in Computer Science from Yale University and the Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Psychology from the University of Michigan.