He taught mathematics at Brown University and later returned to Harvard as a Professor of Physics and Mechanical Engineering[citation needed].

Shortly after assuming his residency he joined the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce in 1928, becoming its Director in 1929 and Vice President from 1931 to 1933[citation needed].

[6] Upon taking office, Davis affirmed his support in general engineering courses and almost immediately expanded the courses in Civil Engineering by introducing a six-week surveying experience that students would complete the summer before their sophomore years at Camp Johnsonburg, a satellite of Stevens' main campus.

[10] The implementation of such programs would contribute to part of Stevens' survival during the Great Depression and give it an additional edge as it prevailed during World War II.

One notable program of the time began in 1938; the Department of Metallurgy was created at Stevens, with Alfred Bornemann, Walter Kidde's nephew, as its head and first Professor of graduate classes in the subject.

[12] Davis was nationally known at this time for his speeches and radio talks about industrial preparedness, often citing that "Production is more important to defense than combat training.

The grant paid for Stevens faculty to give non-credit and tuition-free courses to 650 adult students working in defense industries.

[14] Davis also facilitated the work of A.M. Mayer with the New York Metropolitan Opera to conduct and apply research in psychoacoustics supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.