Osheroff, born in Aberdeen, Washington, earned his Bachelor's degree in 1967 from Caltech, where he was a student of Richard Feynman. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1973.
He now teaches at Stanford University in the Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, where he served as chair for a period of time.
His current research efforts center around studies of quantum fluids and solids and glasses at ultra-low temperatures. Current work in quantum fluids and solids includes studies of transport properties in nuclear magnetically ordered solid 3He, studies of the B phase nucleation in superfluid 3He, and experimental searches for new magnetically ordered two dimensional phases of both solid and liquid 3He on graphite surfaces. The work involving glasses is intended to elucidate the nature of two level systems in amorphous materials at ultra-low temperatures, and to develop new low heat capacity/high resolution thermometers for use in the 1 to 10 mK temperature range.