Rachel Cook

Rachel Cook is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University, affiliated with the College of Natural Resources. Her research focuses on silvicultural management of plantation forests to enhance productivity and environmental sustainability, with particular expertise in soil science, remote sensing applications, and bioenergy systems. She leads projects addressing phosphorus dynamics in loblolly pine plantations, carbon sequestration in pulp mills, and strategic forest planning for large landholdings like the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

Education: Ph.D. (2012), M.S. (2008), and B.S. (2005) in Biology/Environmental Sciences from NCSU and Saint Louis University. Her work integrates ecological principles with advanced technologies like LiDAR for precision forestry and drone-based monitoring.

Research Interests:

• Intensive plantation management practices
• Remote sensing for forest inventory
• Soil classification and nutrient dynamics
• Carbon capture and utilization in forestry
• Bioenergy crop optimization

Grants include $649K for phosphorus carryover studies, $1M for CO2 sequestration in pulp mills, and $382K for strategic WRC forest planning. She collaborates with industry partners through the NSF-funded Center for Advanced Forestry Systems (CAFS).

Labs/Teams: Active in the Forest Productivity Cooperative and leads the NC State research group focusing on sustainable forestry systems through interdisciplinary approaches.