The middle years of Warfield's career were highly productive. In addition to his work as a professor, he engaged in a variety of sophisticated research projects in the academic and corporate world. During some of the most tense moments of the Cold War, he toiled away in military laboratories, working on weapons and sonar systems for the United States Navy, and computers used to control ballistic missiles. He was recruited by several prestigious universities, and some of the top corporations in America.

By the early 1970's, Warfield's career had been dramatically transformed. He had moved away from his specialization in electrical engineering, and began to design experimental new techniques to solve complex problems. It was a direction that would shape the remainder of his life.