Dr. Margaret Cook is the Deputy Director – Climate Equity and Resilience at the Houston Advanced Research Center. In this role, she develops and manages HARC’s Climate Equity Initiative and supports community engagement and community benefits priorities within HARC projects.

Her research interests include interconnections between water, energy, and climate science and policy. She is also passionate about community resilience and making science accessible to the public.

Prior to working at HARC, Dr. Cook’s research focused on the potential for mitigation of water stress in Texas through collaboration on water conservation or reuse technology improvements, and the potential effects of drought and heat wave on thermoelectric power plants in Texas and the Midwest.

Dr. Cook earned her Doctorate in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering with a certificate in Engineering Education in 2018. She earned dual Masters degrees in Public Affairs and Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UT-Austin.