Kerry H Cook
Professor, Department of Geological SciencesKerry Cook came to The University of Texas at Austin in August, 2008. She began her career at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab at Princeton University, followed by 18 years as a professor at Cornell University where she taught courses in Climate Dynamics, Atmospheric Dynamics, and Atmospheric Physics and was a founder of the Science of Earth Systems major. She is active in the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Cook's research activity centers on predicting and understanding climate change and climate variability around the world, including Africa, South America, the central U.S., and home in Austin, TX. She and her group use numerical models of the climate system, including atmosphere, ocean, and vegetation components, along with observational analysis to improve our understanding about how features and processes at the earth's surface interact with atmospheric circulation and precipitation fields.
Areas of Expertise
Climate dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, global climate change, paleoclimate, climate and weather of Africa and South America, climate system modeling, climate change in Texas
Research Locations
Current Research Programs & Projects
Regional climate change prediction: Ausitn, Central and eastern Texas, Africa
Understanding the basic dynamics, and interannual variability, of the West African monsoon system
Understanding the physics of abrupt climate change - past and future - over northern Africa and the central U.S.
Predicting the fate of the Amazon basin climate and vegetation under greenhouse gas-induced climate change
Understanding the seasonal cycle and potential for climate change over East Africa
Understanding the dynamics of the Caribbean low-level jet, and its relationship to the Great Plains low-level jet and regional drought
Fellow - American Meteorological Society (2009)
Outstanding Educator - Merill Presidential Scholar (2007)
Board of Trustees - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (2006 - 2013)
Outstanding Educator - Merrill Presidential Scholar (2003)
Editor, Journal of Climate (2011 - 2012)
Board of Trustees, .University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), (2007 - 2012)
Executive Committee, Board on Oceans and Atmosphere, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (2007 - 2012)
Postdocs
Graduate Students
Naresh Neupane, Ph.D., expected 2013
Gang Zhang, Ph.D., expected 2015
Climate Dynamics and Modeling;
West African Monsoon;
Mesoscale Convective Systems.
Meredith Brown, M.S.
Bing Pu, Ph.D.
Christina Patricola, Ph.D.
Samson Hagos, Ph.D.
Jen-Shan Hsieh, Ph.D.
Torsten Duffy, M.S.
Ned Vizy, Ph.D.
Corinne Carter, M.S.
Leslie Green, M.S.
John Lenters, Ph.D.
Todd Ringler, Ph.D.
Predicting 21st Century Climate Change over Africa, Brown International Advanced Research Institutes, Brown University, Providence RI (2011)
African Climate Change and Variability, Summer Colloquium, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (2011)
Toward confident and useful climate change projections: West Africa and the Sahel, International Union of Geogesy and Geophysics, Melbourne, Australia
