Brian Atkin is a well-known figure in the UK and international research communities. As a Director of the Society, he is well-placed to help develop the Society's interests and activities. His many appointments, substantial research track-record and related achievements are summarised below.
Brian Atkin gained his Doctorate from the University of Reading, where he was formerly Professor of Construction Management. He holds a Master's degree by research into the costs of major engineering infrastructure. Dr Atkin is a Fellow of both The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institute of Building.
He was earlier Professor of Construction Management and Economics at The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and from 2001 until 2008 was Director of the Swedish national research and development programme, Competitive Building, which was funded by the Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) and a group of 17 leading companies.
Dr Atkin holds, or has held, visiting and adjunct professorships in Australia, Finland, Hong Kong and Sweden, and has served on a number of evaluation panels and advisory committees in Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden and the UK. He is a member of the Steering Committees for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) supported Innovative Construction Research Centre (ICRC) at the University of Reading and the Salford Centre for Research and Innovation (SCRI) at the University of Salford. As a member of the British Standards Institution's FM Advisory Group (CB/70), he was involved in the drafting of BS 8536:2010 Facility Management Briefing – Code of Practice and BS 8572:2011 Procurement of facility-related services – Guide. A new standard, BS 8587: Guide to Facility Information Management is under preparation.
Over the years, he has enjoyed substantial support from research councils and the European Commission, of which the FutureHome project under the global Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) initiative was the largest of its kind at £3.2 million and involved 15 organisations across seven countries in Europe and a consortium of Japanese companies.
Dr Atkin has four books in print, including Total Facilities Management now in its third edition, and has published more than 100 papers, articles and reports on subjects spanning design, construction and facility management in both the academic and practitioner press. His work as an examiner covers all levels, including higher doctorates. On the personal level, Dr Atkin has a strong interest in the use of information technology to support learning and peer-group interaction, and has a well-developed understanding of the needs of industry, with whom he has collaborated for over 25 years. Golf, jogging and travel are among his leisure-time interests.
