Hounshell studied electrical engineering at Southern Methodist University, receiving the Bachelor of Surgery in 1972. He then changed fields and enrolled in the University of Delaware"s history program earning the Master of Surgery in 1975. He continued his studies at Delaware completing his Doctor of Philosophy in 1978.
He is known for his work of the history of research and development and industrial research in the United States, particularly at DuPont. Hounshell started his academic career at the University of Delaware, where in 1983 he got promoted to Associate Professor of History. In those days he was also curator of technology at the Hagley Museum.
In the year 1987/88 he was a Marvin Bower Fellow at Harvard Business School.
In 1991 he moved to the Carnegie Mellon University, where he is appointed David M. Roderick Professor of Technology and Social Change in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Department of History, and the Department of Engineering and Public Policy. Hounshell has worked with National Research Council and the National Science Foundation to study the effects of the Cold War on science and engineering research.
In 2007 the Society for the History of Technology also awarded him its highest prize, the Leonardo da Vinci Meda, Smith, John Kenley.
