Erin Haacker

Research Associate

Bio Summary

Erin Haacker arrived at the Nebraska Water Center along a winding road. The research associate has two bachelor’s degrees – zoology from the University of Montana and geology from University College Cork in Ireland. She ventured to Michigan State University for her Ph.D., double majoring in environmental science and policy. Originally, Haacker wanted to work in dinosaur paleontology, so she spent a few summers at a Montana dinosaur museum. But her first hydrology class got her hooked on water. The museum town was analyzing its water supply, which inspired her senior thesis on hydrogeology of that area. She became frustrated with the minimal usefulness of paleontology, which fueled her move toward hydrology where her knowledge applies to the real world. As a doctoral student, Haacker participated in a large, interdisciplinary collaboration studying the High Plains Aquifer in Texas. She used models linking groundwater, surface-water, economics, atmosphere and other factors. At NWC, Haacker combines the modeling of groundwater and surface-water interactions with statistical data analysis. Her skills include integrating tools such as GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Python, a cross-platform, open-source programming language, to improve models. She is interested in groundwater management, especially in terms of profit and risk. Haacker likes to ask thought-provoking questions such as how people adapt to natural resources and how that can be represented in physical and statistical models. A Nebraska native, Haacker was raised in Washington State and moved to Montana. Now back in Nebraska, when she isn’t working on her distinguished career, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her daughter. In early 2019, Haacker accepted a faculty position in UNL’s Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, where she plans to capitalize on the skills and knowledge she gained at NWC.