Prof. McHugh has interests in fluid mechanics and applied math. He has held full-time positions at the David Taylor Research Center and the Offshore Company prior to his Ph.D. He is a frequent visitor to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and he has held visiting positions at the Air Force Geophysics Lab, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and MIT.

Prof. McHugh is primary interested in analytical and computational solutions to physical problems. His current research topics include internal waves in the atmosphere of earth and other planets, origins of the deep ocean circulations, non-linear waves on the surface of a fluid, and mesoscale oceanic vortices.

Prof. McHugh teaches courses in fluid mechanics and math.