In 1954 he moved to Brooklyn to work under Professor Greogr at the Polytechnic Institute. In 1957, after returning to Ljubljana, he obtained his PhD. He was appointed an associate professor in 1960, and a professor in 1965.
In 1939 Dolar began studying chemistry at the University of Ljubljana and then graduated in 1944. In 1947 he enrolled at the University of Leningrad and continued studying physical chemistry. In 1952 he became an assistant professor of physical chemistry in Ljubljana.