Meet the Founder

Dr. Joshua Madin is a marine ecologist and engineer with nearly three decades spent on the front lines of reef change—watching corals collapse under pressure and, against the odds, grow back. That long view gives him a rare, practical understanding of the biological and physical processes that matter when restoring reefs, offsetting reef loss, or designing entirely new reef systems for coastal protection and marine infrastructure.

His career bridges academia and innovation, backed by NSF, DARPA, and philanthropic partners. As a Professor at the world-renowned Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology—an institute literally surrounded by coral reefs—he co-leads the Marine Conservation Innovation Group, where cutting-edge science meets real-world implementation. This combined expertise fuels his work as founder of Reefmasons, where he is redefining what modern reef restoration can accomplish.