 In 1936, he went to the University of Rochester in New York, serving as Assistant to the President and Lecturer in Chemistry.In 1941, following the outbreak of World War II, Hovde joined the newly established National Defense Research Committee, which later became a part of the war-time Office of Scientific Research and Development.His first assignment was as head of the London Mission of the OSRD, an opportunity which he took to obtain a master's degree from Oxford University.