There, Conn attended high school, and earned a four-year scholarship to the University of Colorado at Boulder, becoming a first generation college student.
Conn's professor and mentor, Reuben Gustavson, inspired his passion for biochemistry and recommended him to the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge in his final undergraduate year.
After contributing to the Manhattan Project, Conn decided to continue his studies and in 1946, he applied and was accepted to the University of Chicago as a graduate student to research higher plants (trees, shrubs, flowering herbs, and ferns).
His graduate research focused on isolating an enzyme found in higher plants called Triphosphopyridine Nucleotide.
Following Professor Vennesland's advice, Conn accepted a position at the University of California, Berkeley.