Hover came to Cornell with the assistance of a grant from the Exxon Foundation, designed to bring experienced engineers to the faculties of U.S. colleges of engineering, and he was among the first winners of an ACI scholarship.

He joined the faculty in 1984, where he teaches reinforced and prestressed concrete design, concrete materials, and construction management. His research focuses on the impact of construction operations and the construction environment on concrete quality.

A licensed Professional Engineer in Ohio and New York, Hover lectures nationally and internationally on concrete materials and construction.

ACI has honored him with the Joe W. Kelly Award, Robert E. Philleo Award, and Structural Research Award. He is also a winner of the ASCE Materials Division’s Best Basic Research Paper Award. The Weiss Presidential Fellowship is Cornell University’s highest teaching award and he has received many other teaching awards in his department and college.

In January 2006 at World of Concrete, he was named one of the “Ten Most Influential People in the Concrete Industry.”