Dan's major involvement at LaSalle included concert band, concert choir, student council, debate, drama, yearbook and National Honor Society. Claes was also a National Merit Finalist. He was the recipient of a UNI Physics Competition Scholarship and UNI Math Alumni Fellowship. Claes graduated from UNI Summa cum Laude with a BA in Physics and Mathematics, he later earned an MS in Physics from Northeastern Illinois University, and a PhD in Physics from Northwestern University. Claes established and co-ran the Cosmic Ray Observatory Project, a nationally recognized education and outreach effort involving teams of high school teachers and students in a study of extensive cosmic ray showers and directed the Education & Outreach group for the Underground Neutrino Observatory. In addition, Dan co-lead the Broader Impact Committee for Henderson Underground Science & Engineering Project and served as a tenured Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.