Following the Second World War, Wilson was a pioneer in the application of microwave spectroscopy to the determination of molecular structure.
[5][6] He then went to the California Institute of Technology where he worked with Linus Pauling on crystal structure determinations and finished his PhD.
[5] His election meant he had a 3-year junior fellowship at Harvard during which he studied molecular motion and symmetry analysis.
He taught courses in chemistry and quantum mechanics and was promoted to an associate professor with tenure after three years.
[5] From 1934 to 1941, Bright, along with Harold Gershinowitz, constructed an automatic infrared spectrometer which was used to measure vibrational absorption spectra of various molecules.
In 1942 an Underwater Explosives Research Laboratory (UERL) was opened at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution which Bright led.
[5] The US navy, exasperated by the continual harassment of Nazi U-boats on allied shipping vessels had a strong interest in the UERL and its research with depth charges and other anti-submarine weapons.
To facilitate this research, the laboratory acquired an old fishing vessel, the Reliance, which was fitted to record electronic signals from pressure sensors deep underwater.
In 1947 Bright and Richard Hughes invented and built a Stark-effect microwave spectrometer which could measure different radio waves and became an important tool in spectroscopy.