In 1997, I moved to Greenbelt, Maryland, a few years after I had earned a Bachelors Degree from St. John’s College, the “Great Books” school in Annapolis, Maryland. I came to Greenbelt to work at NASA Goddard in the data center for an experimental weather satellite. In 2008, I earned a Ph.D. in Computational Sciences from George Mason University, having researched hurricanes for my dissertation. In 2017, the Greenbelt City Council appointed me to the town’s Forest Preserved Advisory Board.

In December of 2019, I self-published a field guide to the plants of the Greenbelt North Woods. The book can be purchased directly from me at okelley@gmu.edu or by visiting the Greenbelt Museum gift shop, which is open Sundays 1-5 PM.  The book can also be purchased from online retailers such as Barnes and Noble.

Above, a study of a common autumn wildflower that grows at the forest edge in Greenbelt (credit: O. Kelley, 2016).

Hurricane Dorian visualization featured by NASA. Higher resolution image here.

Tree History as reported by the Greenbelt News Review on 17 August 2017. Higher resolution image here.