Lovell taught courses in advanced mechanics of materials; plates, shells and pressure vessels; structural instability; mechanical vibrations; variational methods; and aerospace structural mechanics. Prior to joining the university in 1968, he was associated with NASA Langley Research Center and the University of Michigan. In the Wisconsin Institute of Nuclear Systems, he was involved in analytical simulations of melt-down experiments. The work models evolution of crusts on liquid metal pools during quench. Microelectromechanical systems research is carried out at the Wisconsin Center for Applied Microelectronics with faculty from the departments of chemical engineering and electrical & computer engineering. Using X-ray lithography and electrodeposition, the technology has been developed to produce metal gears, springs, actuators and motors, with features as small as a few microns. In the college's Fusion Technology Institute, Lovell was responsible for mechanics-related issues for inertial fusion reactors, such as designs using laser, light ion and heavy ion drivers. Problems include thermally induced vibrations, dynamics of tubular components with flowing liquid metals, response of blanket modules to isochoric heating, and shocks in solids for radiant energy. Professor Lovell's general area of research and instruction is structural mechanics. He is affiliated with three College of Engineering centers.