Lawrence F. Dahl is an R.E. Rundle and Hilldale Professor of Chemistry, emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

. Dahl is an inorganic chemist

Inorganic chemistry

Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds , which are the subjects of organic chemistry...

, and his research focused on high-nuclearity metallic compounds. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences

United States National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

 in 1988.

Early life and education

Dahl was born in 1929. He earned his B.S. degree from the University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

 in 1951 and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

 in 1956.

Career

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 Ph.D. candidates, 24 M.S. students, 45 undergraduate research students, and 15 postdoctoral fellows.

Selected awards and distinctions

• 1969-1970 - Guggenheim Fellow
• 1980 - Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
  American Association for the Advancement of Science
  The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
  
  
• 1985 - Alexander von Humboldt Award
• 1988 - Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
• 1992 - Elected Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
  
  
• 1999 - Willard Gibbs Award
  Willard Gibbs Award
  The Willard Gibbs Award, which consists of an eighteen-carat gold medal, the Willard Gibbs Medal, was founded in 1910 by William A. Converse. The medal was named after J. Willard Gibbs. The award recognizes "eminent chemists who .....
  
  
• 2010 - F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry