He was appointed lecturer in chemistry at the University of Glasgow in 1787, and professor of medicine in 1789.
In January 1788, on the proposal of John Walker, Daniel Rutherford and Alexander Monro, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
In 1791–1792 Hope completed experiments on the chemical element strontium, proposing the name Stronities for it, after Strontian, the west highland village where he found strontianite. The element was later renamed to Strontium. On 4 November 1793, Hope presented his findings, An account of a Mineral from Strontian and of a Peculiar Species of Earth which it contains, to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
In the experiment that bears his name, Hope determined the maximum density of water and explained why icebergs float.