In 1976 Emmel became a charter member of the International Association for Coptic Studies, Web site of the International Association for Coptic Studies. whose first international congress (Cairo, December 1976) he helped to organize;James M. Robinson, "The First International Congress of Coptology," Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie copte 23 (1976–78) 281–298; see p. 298. between 1996 and 2000 he served as the association's president, and since 2000 he has been its secretary. Newsletter no. 53 of the International Association for Coptic Studies, with information about its members in 2010; see p. 9. He was a founding editor of the Journal of Coptic Studies (Leuven: Peeters, 1988–2001 with Gerald M. Browne), and he has helped to edit several scientific monograph series.Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies (Leiden etc.: Brill, 1997–99 with Hans-Joachim Klimkeit, 2002–8 with Johannes van Oort), Sprachen und Kulturen des Christlichen Orients (Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 1996–present with Johannes den Heijer, Martin Krause, and Andrea B. Schmidt). In 2012, Emmel was appointed "Socio Straniero" ("Foreign member") of the Italian Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Rome).
