Von Hippel was a pioneer in the study of dielectrics, ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials, and semiconductors and was a codeveloper of radar during World War II.
In 1933, with the ascension of Nazis to power in Germany, von Hippel decided to move to another country, mainly because his wife was Jewish, but due also to his political stance against the new regime.
In 1936, accepting an invitation by Karl Compton, von Hippel moved again, this time to the United States, and became an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
During this time, he studied the properties and behavior of high voltage gas discharges, using positive and negative Lichtenberg figures recorded on photographic film.
Von Hippel is briefly mentioned in Ayşe Kulin's historical novel Without a Country as one of the German scientists who took an academic position in Turkey while fleeing Nazi Germany.