[1] His parents emigrated from Switzerland to the United States, where Nef studied chemistry at Harvard University until 1884.

Upon graduation, he joined Adolf von Baeyer at the University of Munich, where he received his Ph.D. in 1887.

In 1892 Nef joined the newly formed University of Chicago as professor of chemistry, where he spent the rest of his academic career.

[3] His son John Ulric Nef (1899–1988) became a professor of economic history and published several books.

[2][1] The discovery of the Nef reaction and the papers about divalent carbon (carbenes) were his major achievements.