Conrad received his bachelor's degree in 1959 and MA degree in 1960 from University of North Texas and Ph.D. degree in 1964 from University of Texas. Then he worked two years as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas and joined the faculty at Southern Illinois University in 1966. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1971 and to full Professor in 1976. Apart from being at SIUC, Conrad was a Senior Visitor in Inorganic Chemistry Department at the Oxford University, U.K. in 1974-1975 and Visiting Associate Professor at Department of Chemistry, University of Texas, Austin, Texas in summer 1976.
Conrad's research honors and awards include Proctor and Gamble Fellow (1962-1963), University of Texas Fellow (1963-1964), Kaplan Research Award (1972), A. P. Sloan Foundation Fellow (1973-1975), American Men and Women of Science, 13th Edition and Outstanding Researcher, College of Science (1994). He has served on a number of departmental and university committees.
Conrad is a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, American Chemical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association of University Professors, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Sigma Xi, Illinois Education Association/National Education Association, National Science Teachers Association and Council on Undergraduate Research.