Cynthia Cook
Cynthia Cook is director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group and a senior fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Her research interests include defense acquisition policy and organization, the defense-industrial base, new technology development, and weapon systems production and sustainment. Dr. Cook is a member of the editorial board for the Defense Acquisition Research Journal and is an adjunct professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. From 1997 to 2021, Dr. Cook worked as a senior management scientist at RAND, where she oversaw, led, and worked on a wide range of studies for components across the U.S. Department of Defense, along with the Australian Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defense. Previously, Dr. Cook was a research specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on the Lean Aerospace Initiative. Before her graduate studies, Dr. Cook worked in New York as an investment banker, specializing in high-yield finance. She holds a PhD in sociology from Harvard University and a BS in management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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Media Queries
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In the News
Australian companies increasingly look to US following AUKUS pact
Cynthia Cook in Defense News — April 5, 2024
Australian companies increasingly look to US following AUKUS pact
Cynthia Cook in Defense News — April 5, 2024
The companies benefiting from Europe’s defence revival
Cynthia Cook in Financial Times — February 23, 2024
The companies benefiting from Europe’s defence revival
Cynthia Cook in Financial Times — February 23, 2024
Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry
Cynthia Cook in NPR — February 21, 2024
How War in Europe Boosts the U.S. Economy
Cynthia Cook in The Wall Street Journal — February 18, 2024
Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war?
Cynthia Cook in NPR — January 30, 2024
For US to counter China effectively, Pentagon must reform, warns first-of-its-kind report
Cynthia Cook in South China Morning Post — January 12, 2024
All Cynthia Cook Content
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Spotlight on Russia’s Attack on a Ukrainian Marine Gas Turbine Supplier
Commentary by Cynthia Cook, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Jennifer Jun, Alexander Holderness, and Grace Hwang — August 10, 2022