After completing an NRC Postdoctoral Associateship from 1961-63, he joined the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., as a research metallurgist until he joined the faculty of Rensselaer as Chair and Professor. Professor Glicksman was appointed to the Horton Distinguished Professorship in 1986. He is a fellow of ASM International, the Metallurgical Society, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Professor Glicksman's interests center on solidification and crystal growth. Studies include microstructures in the late stages where they age and, ultimately, relax toward equilibrium.
Dendritic growth is the common mode of solidification encountered in casting and welding processes.
Space flight experiments launched by NASA are used to observe dendrites freezing under low-gravity conditions. Microstructure evolution in annealed two-phase alloys. Quantitative description of microstructures constitutes the core of this research focus, using stereology and metallography combined with modern image analysis. Melt-zone interactions in alloy mushy zones.