John D. Atkinson

PhD

John D. Atkinson

PhD

John D. Atkinson

PhD

Scott and Coleen Stevens Chair in Engineering Sustainability

Associate Professor

Director of Graduate Studies

Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Director, Engineering Science MS: Focus on Engineering Sustainability

Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Research Topics

Waste Management; Recycling; Plastics and Polymers; Environmental Engineering; Sustainability; Porous Materials; Carbon, Aerosol Science and Technology; Hazardous Materials

Contact Information

233 Jarvis Hall

Buffalo NY, 14260

Phone: (716) 645-4001

atkjdw@buffalo.edu

Latest News

What happens when a city’s recycling program stops working?
7/15/25
Straight Arrow News quoted John Atkinson in an article about what happens when municipal recycling systems shut down.
Immersive study abroad opens academic and personal worlds
9/9/24
Six students from SEAS participated in a first-of-its-kind study abroad earlier this summer. The students were the first United States cohort to participate in a European Union BEST course, joining European students in Iasi, Romania.
Microplastics research project gets funding boost
8/9/24
Rochester Beacon listed UB as a partner of a project that has received new federal funding to study the effects of microplastics in the Great Lakes environment across the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse region.
John Atkinson recognized for developing learning opportunities in sustainability
5/2/24
John Atkinson, Scott and Coleen Stevens Chair in Engineering Sustainability, received the Faculty Award for Sustainability in Higher Education from the University at Buffalo.
Don’t Trust Plastic Snack Wrappers With Recycling Instructions
9/29/23
Bloomberg quoted John Atkinson in a report that a plastic drop-off program embraced by 12,000 retail locations and more than 500 brands in the U.S. has been putting packaging into landfills.
Skimmer boats to the rescue
7/6/23
The Star (Malaysia) reposted an article on skimmer boats, designed to pick up litter found in waterways, with John Atkinson noting that society’s reliance on plastic is a greater problem to address.
Tampa’s ‘Litter Skimmer’ trash boat tackles a growing problem
6/14/23
The New York Times quoted John Atkinson, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, in a story about how cities are turning to “trash skimmers” to rid their waterways of plastic waste and how environmentalists say the boats are more of a Band-Aid than a solution.