Dr. Margaret Cook is HARC’s Vice President, Water & Community Resilience. She is a seasoned sustainability leader with a proven record of innovative research and solution development. With a strong foundation in engineering, policy, and the water-energy-climate nexus, Dr. Cook has successfully collaborated with diverse stakeholders to address critical challenges in these sectors, co-developing programs with communities and prioritizing those with greatest need. Her research focuses on developing and implementing solutions for water resource management, energy access and affordability, and climate adaptation.
As HARC’s Vice President, Water & Community Resilience, she leads a team of experts building collaborative initiatives to enhance community resilience, sustainable development, and availability and affordability of clean water.
Dr. Cook earned her Doctorate in Civil Engineering with a certificate in Engineering Education, her Masters Degree in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, and her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering. She earned a dual Masters degree in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at UT-Austin.
Awards and Achievements
2024 Power Player Awards (Powerhouse Texas) | Outstanding Energy Policy Advisor
Authored Publications and Related Projects
Cook, M. (2026). Thirsty Data and The Lone Star State: The Impact of Data Center Growth on Texas’ Water Supply. Houston Advanced Research Center.
Cook, M. A., Tremaine, D., Wyatt, B. M., Banner, J. L., Charles, J., Berg, M. Bruno, T., Glazer, Y. R., Callison, C., Mace, R. E., Miller, V., Bare, R., Sanchez Flores, R., Seefeldt, J., Fuller, A., and Niyogi, D. (2023). Addressing challenges to ensuring justice and sustainability in policy and infrastructure for Texas water resources in the 21st century. (in review)
Cook, M., Davidson, F.T., Fell, H., Glynn, J., Lott, M.C., & Rhodes, J. (2022). Electrification on the Path to Net Zero: A Comparison of Studies Examining Opportunities and Barriers in the United States. Retrieved from the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA website.
Glazer, Y. R., Tremaine, D. M., Banner, J. L., Cook, M., Mace, R. E., Nielsen-Gammon, J., … & Webber, M. E. (2021). Winter Storm Uri: A Test of Texas’ Water Infrastructure and Water Resource Resilience to Extreme Winter Weather Events. Journal of Extreme Events, 8(4), 2150022.
