He became an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 and by 1964 a full professor. While at Penn, based on DARPA's request for proposals for interdisciplinary materials research, Hughes helped co-found the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter in 1962."LRSM C0-Founder Dr. Robert E. Hughes Passes at Age 92" at https://www.lrsm.upenn.edu/news-item/robert-e-hughes-passes/ and “LSRM 50th Anniversary Celebration” at https://www.lrsm.upenn.edu/event/lrsm-50th-anniversary-celebration/ and https://www.lrsm.upenn.edu/event/lrsm-50th-anniversary-celebration-videos/.
