Thomas Cook is Professor of Sociology, Psychology, Education and Social Policy, Joan and Serepta Harrison Chair in Ethics and Justice, and Faculty Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. His research has examined social science methods for inferring causation, and evaluation research, primarily in the areas of education and community health. He has authored or edited several books on these topics, including Quasi-Experimental Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Evaluation Research, and The Foundations of Evaluation Theory. He is also interested in understanding how individual and institutional factors combine to help some adolescents successfully navigate both middle class and ghetto worlds.

Dr. Cook was a member of the MacArthur Foundation Network on Successful Adolescence in High Risk Settings, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a Trustee of the Russell Sage Foundation. In addition, Professor Cook has been awarded the Gunnar Myrdal Prize for Science by the American Evaluation Association, the Donald T. Campbell Prize for Innovative Methodology by the Policy Science Organization, and a Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Psychological Association.