He earned his Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Louisville in 1951 and his Doctor of Philosophy from Iowa State University in 1956.
Dahl is an inorganic chemist, and his research focused on high-nuclearity metallic compounds. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1988. In 1957 Dahl joined the faculty in the chemistry department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Since then, his laboratory has made significant contributions in the synthesis, structure, and bonding of transition metal compounds.
Dahl has trained 95 Doctor of Philosophy candidates, 24 Master of Surgery students, 45 undergraduate research students, and 15 postdoctoral fellows. 1969-1970 - Guggenheim Fellow.
National Academy of Sciences.