He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1979 for his fundamental contributions to multiphase flows, bubble dynamics, and safety of nuclear reactors.

[2][3] Plesset served as professor of engineering science at California Institute of Technology during 1951 to 1978. Notable scientists Andrea Prosperetti, Norman Zabusky, and Chris Whipple finished their doctoral work under Plesset's guidance.

Milton Plesset, Andrea Prosperetti, and Chris Whipple were elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

[4] The Rayleigh–Plesset equation describing the dynamics of a bubble in an infinite body of fluid is also named after him.

Together, they undertook a theoretical study of positrons using the Dirac equation in quantum electrodynamics to show how electron-positron pairs were formed.