Dr. Margaret Cook joined HARC as a Research Associate focusing on the Texas Energy-Water Climate Nexus in November 2020.
Margaret 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. Her research interests include the water-energy-climate nexus and connections between science and policy. She is also passionate about making science accessible to the public, especially K-12 students. Margaret’s previous 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. She has also worked on improving water recycling in the oil and gas industry with the aim of reducing total fresh water use in water-scarce West Texas.
Margaret earned her dual Masters degrees in Public Affairs and Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UT-Austin. She has used her expertise working at the Texas Legislature, the U.S. Department of Energy, Apache Corporation, and Austin Energy.
