Paul L. Kelley studied physics at Rutgers University, receiving his B.A. in 1956; Cornell University, receiving his M.S. in 1959; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning his Ph.D. in 1962. Dr. Kelley is a retired Professor of Electrical Engineering at Tufts University where he served as the Director of the Electro-Optics Technology Center. Until 1992, he was a staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and, for a number of years, held the position of Associate Leader of the Quantum Electronics Group.

Dr. Kelley's interests include nonlinear optics, tunable lasers, laser spectroscopy, laser remote sensing, and optical communications.

Dr. Kelley is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the Optical Society. He has been the editor of Optics Letters and chairman of the Optical Society’s Board of Editors and Publications Council. He received the 1998 Stephen D. Fantone Distinguished Service Award “in recognition of three decades of service to the optical community. He has been a major contributor to a transformation in the dissemination of technical information, in the organization of meetings on optical science and technology, and in OSA itself. His wisdom, consideration, and intellectual integrity are esteemed by all.”