Dr. Aaron E. Payne, Ph.D.

Dr. Aaron Payne is an instructor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) in West Point. Hailing from Oneonta, New York, an upstate town roughly 2-1/2 hours north of West Point, he currently resides east of the Hudson River in Cortlandt Manor. 

He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in ecology and field biology from SUNY Oneonta in 2008. While there, he was a member of the track and field team and a one-time school record holder for pole vault.

Dr. Payne earned his doctorate in ecology, evolution, and animal behavior from Binghamton University in 2013. His research focused on the neuroethology of the thorn bug, Umbonia crassicornis, specifically the directionality of vibrational communication. He is currently working on obtaining his master’s certificate in medical entomology from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Before becoming one of the founding members of the USMAPS science department in 2014, Dr. Payne worked as an adjunct professor in the biology department at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, New York. He was also an adjunct professor in the biology department at Iona University in New Rochelle, New York, and a fellow in the Bronx Zoo education department.

While at USMAPS, Dr. Payne has served as an assistant fencing coach, assistant soccer coach, sponsor of the ski and snowboard club, and assistant sponsor of the golf club.