During World War II he taught science and engineering in the Army Specialized Training Program at The Johns Hopkins University.
He then moved to Cleveland, where between 1944 and 1946 he worked in a program sponsored by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the predecessor to NASA) to create materials that would withstand the heat required for developing jet engines[1] Nowick returned to New York after World War II, where he completed his doctoral work under S. L. Quimby at Columbia University, obtaining his PhD in 1949.
In this position, he began work on his book Anelastic Relaxation in Crystalline Solids with British scientist Brian Berry.
"[4] In 1966 Nowick returned to Columbia University as Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Science, where he remained until his retirement.
Over course of his career he authored more than 200 publications and supervised over 30 PhD students, including MIT professor and materials scientist Harry L.