Prior to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (2013–present), he had held academic appointments with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (1982–1983), Wichita State University (1983–1986), University of Dayton (1986-1998: Founding Director, Electro-Optics Program, 1990–1998; Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1994-1998), University of Tennessee at Knoxville (1998–2000: Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering), City College of New York of the City University of New York (2000–2004: Dean of Engineering), and Old Dominion University (2004-2013: Vice President for Research). Ataul Karim is an elected fellow of seven societies: Optical Society of America (1993), Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (1995), Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (2002), Institute of Physics (2006), Institution of Engineering & Technology (2006), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2009), and Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (2022).