Hays Cummins is professor emeritus in the Western Program and the Department of Geography at Miami University. Hays is a founding co-director of Project Dragonfly and served as the science editor for Dragonfly magazine. Hays received his Ph.D. in oceanography from Texas A&M University. He has led many international courses to Australia, The Bahamas, the Netherlands Antilles, Belize, Australia, Namibia, and Costa Rica. His interdisciplinary research focuses on coral reefs, tropical ecology, understanding ecological change, science pedagogy, ecological restoration, conservation of habitats, as well as the reconstruction of past ecological communities in marine systems. He also has a passion for all things related to climate change and weather, astronomy, and photography. Hays has authored many research papers and popular articles focusing on science and science education. Recent publications include articles investigating coral reef disease and also a synthesis paper on beaver canals and their environmental effects. He has written two books, one on Bahamas birds and the other on Caribbean coral reef fish.
