Paul Coleman was born and mostly raised in Hawai'i and went to the mainland for college. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985 while working for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. After a year as a visiting assitant professor at Virginia Tech, He accepted a position at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute in Groningen, The Netherlands. After spending eight years on the scientific staff there, he returned to the United States with a series of appointments at New Mexico Tech, Yale University, and the University of Puerto Rico, before accepting his present position of associate astronomer with the Institute for Astronomy here in Hawai'i.

Prof. Coleman's research interests are extremely varied. He has observed with many telescopes all over the world and in many wavebands. He is primarily interested in the large scale structure of the universe and is an active supporter of using unbiased statistical tests of the often meager data available. He is an advocate for fractal models of astronomical phenomena and is also very interested in active galactic nuclei across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Since returning home, he has become more involved in native Hawaiian issues and is trying to play catch-up with cultural concerns. He hopes to increase native Hawaiian involvement in the first rate astronomy effort here in Hawai'i, at all levels.