When the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Samantha Cook enrolled as a music major at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), she never dreamed that an elective class called Global Environmental Change would dramatically change her life.
The ERDC-Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Research Physical Scientist now recalls that it was the first time she heard the phrase “global warming.”
“I just took one look at the issue and said, ‘this is the problem of our generation,’” she said.
Cook described how she changed her major, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from UNH, and then found a position with CRREL.
Since November 2021, she has been on a detail with the Department of Defense’s Climate Action Team, helping to shape DOD guidance and policy on issues pertaining to climate change in support of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the armed services.