[2] Shor's doctoral work employed explosive shots to make measurements of the Mohorovičić discontinuity, the boundary layer between the Earth's crust and mantle.

Shor began work as an assistant research geophysicist at the Marine Physical Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1953.

[6] The field work involved using explosives and air guns to conduct refraction and reflection studies of the Earth's structure below the seafloor.

[4][8] Project Mohole aimed to obtain a sample of the Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) by drilling from a deep-ocean region.

The project was initially led by a group of scientists called the American Miscellaneous Society with funding from the National Science Foundation.

After the project won an initial grant for exploratory study in 1958, Shor became involved because of his recent work on seismic measurements of the Moho discontinuity.

He and Raitt contributed to several Mohole committees and led expeditions to the Hawaiian Islands to determine the best drilling location for the project.

[4] He also helped create and served on the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), which coordinates operations of research ships throughout the world.

[3] Shor retired from Scripps in 1991, and he and his wife developed an interest in bamboo as a structural material for flooring, furniture and other applications.