Boise State University alum and former Top Ten Scholar Audrey Parker was featured on Mar. 25 for her research into methane emissions, as reported by MIT News. Now a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Parker is working to address the challenge of reducing methane, a greenhouse gas that has a stronger short-term effect than carbon dioxide.
Parker’s work focuses on developing catalyst technologies that can speed up the natural breakdown of methane into carbon dioxide. This process typically takes more than ten years in the atmosphere, but her research aims to accelerate it in order to provide environmental benefits while considering energy use and impact.
She collaborates with industry partners and tests her technology outside the laboratory setting. This approach helps ensure that solutions are practical and scalable for industries such as dairy farming and coal mining—both major sources of methane emissions in the United States.
Parker said her experience at Boise State University influenced her career path. As an undergraduate, she studied sustainable materials science and received recognition as one of Boise State’s Top Ten Scholars before pursuing advanced research opportunities at MIT.
Her motivation comes from a strong connection to Idaho’s outdoors and landscapes where she grew up. According to Parker, preserving nature for future generations remains central to her work.
