Alumni Legacy Scholarship recipient and Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering senior Audrey Parker was selected for a 2022 Tau Beta Pi graduate fellowship. Parker is one of 31 selected fellows out of 278 applicants. Tau Beta Pi is the Engineering Honor Society, founded at Lehigh University in 1885. With 251 collegiate chapters and 47 active alumni chapters, it has initiated nearly 624,000 members in its 137-year history and is the world’s largest engineering society.
Parker, also a Top Ten Scholar, graduated in 2022 with a bachelor of science in materials science and engineering with an emphasis in chemistry and sustainability. This fall she will start her graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in environmental engineering.
Parker received the Donald A. Stark Fellowship. The fellowship is supported by a gift from a charitable trust named for the man who contributed much to progress in the fluid-power industry. Parker’s fellowship includes a cash stipend of $10,000 for her advanced study.
“I feel deeply honored and humbled to have been selected as a Tau Beta Pi Fellow,” Parker said. “The fellowship demonstrates a dedication and commitment to advancement in engineering, which I will strive to embody throughout my graduate school experience. I feel truly grateful to continue the legacy of the award.”
The Boise-native began conducting research in the Boise State Surface Science Laboratory alongside honored faculty Paul Davis after her first year at Boise State. She supported more than 20 projects ranging from biofuel characterization for sustainable energy to nanomagnetic imaging for improved electronic data storage.
Her research earned her a spot in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Summer Research Program in the summer of 2021. While at MIT, she joined a global network of researchers dedicated to environmental sustainability, primarily strategies for greenhouse gas removal.
“While at MIT, my focus will emphasize the [Tau Beta Pi] honor by conducting environmental research targeted toward greenhouse gas abatement, streamlining climate change mitigation pathways, in conjunction with making engineering as inclusive and diverse as possible,” Parker said. “The funds of this fellowship will help solidify a platform where I can provide leadership and construct meaningful dialogues to support historically marginalized groups in STEM.”
