On a Saturday morning last fall, Meredith Walker was helping friends prepare for a baby shower when the ping of a notification changed everything.

The message was from someone at Kellogg Brown and Root, which contracts with NASA Johnson Space Center to develop food for astronauts.

“I looked down at my phone and got an email from the hiring manager,” Walker said. “They wanted to add me to the team.”

The email Walker received in August 2025 jump-started her career. By September, Walker stepped into her role with KBR, beginning her work at the space food systems laboratory.

KBR is a global company focused on engineering and construction, where Walker is employed as a space food production scientist. The company contracts with industry clients and specializes in sustainability, defense and space exploration, according to the KBR website.

“Working in space food is really meaningful,” Walker said. “We’re contributing to the future of human exploration in space.”

Walker’s role primarily supports freeze-dried food production for spaceflight and research studies, handling batch formulation, process control and ensuring compliance with NASA food safety and quality standards, she said.

Walker often focuses on freeze-dried breakfast, lunch and dinner foods, which are shelf-stable and designed to be rehydrated on orbit, she added.

“That variety is really important,” Walker said. “You don’t want the crew eating the same thing over and over.”

It is all part of a balance space food scientists must take into consideration, Walker added.

“The system has to be safe, and it has to be nutritious,” Walker said. “We want to keep the crew eating for the duration of the mission. Ideally, we would need a five-year shelf life for longer duration missions.”

Space food scientists consider the limitations of storage, packaging waste and power on the spacecraft when developing astronaut meals.

“There’s only so much space and resources available,” Walker said. “Everything from packaging to preparation has to be efficient.”

The factors of these different parameters are challenging but make the job exciting, Walker added.

“The food has to be practical enough for the crew to use in microgravity,” she said. “We don’t want a bunch of crumbs and liquid going everywhere.”

Walker earned a bachelor’s degree in food science, as well as an Honors degree, from Oklahoma State University in 2020.

While continuing her work at NASA Johnson Space Center, Walker is currently pursuing a master’s degree in food science at Kansas State University, furthering her knowledge.

“When I was touring, I really liked Oklahoma State’s campus,” Walker said. “Everyone was so nice, and it wasn’t too far away from home.”

Walker, a triplet, grew up with her siblings in Overland Park, Kansas, she said. As children, they shared friends, sports and were sometimes placed in the same classes.

“Being a triplet is the best thing ever,” Walker said.

However, when they began making their college decisions, Walker’s sister and brother chose to attend Kansas State University.

Walker was impressed with the many hands-on opportunities available through the OSU food science program, she said.

“I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do before starting my undergrad,” Walker said.

Walker’s mom worked at Dairy Farmers of America in the communications department, which is where Walker discovered food science. She said one of her mom’s coworkers gave her insight into the role of food science in the agricultural industry.

“You see the food on the shelves at the store and accept it will always be there,” Walker said. “I didn’t really think about how there are people who make the food on the shelves.”

In Walker’s undergraduate years, she took an introduction to food engineering course with Danielle Bellmer, Ferguson College of Agriculture assistant dean for academic programs and professor in the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center and the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.

“It wasn’t an easy class, and she did very well,” Bellmer said. “She was always very attentive and was quick to learn new concepts.”

Bellmer recognized Walker’s potential early on, she added.

By Walker’s junior year, Bellmer brought her on as an undergraduate researcher in her lab. Walker worked on a project that tested the survivability of probiotics in cooked food.

“She really got us started and off the ground on this project,” Bellmer said. “She was very creative and had a lot of attention to detail.”

Walker said she has always enjoyed the innovation that comes with the food science industry.

“You get to do a lot of creative things,” Walker said. “There is a creativity piece and a science piece I really liked.”

During OSU orientation, Walker met Jacy Holbrook, her freshman-year roommate, who would soon become her best friend.

Holbrook, an OSU Spears School of Business alum, pointed to Walker’s ingenuity as a key trait.

“Even though she is very science-minded, she is also very creative,” Holbrook said. “She has a lot of artistic ability when it comes to interior decorating and graphic design.”

Walker is among the most dedicated people she knows, Holbrook said.

“What truly sets her apart is her work ethic,” Holbrook said. “Meredith has all the talent, all the intellect and all the ability in the world.”

She is willing to work tirelessly and diligently to make her dreams happen, Holbrook added.

“When she’s faced with a problem, she jumps into action to solve it instead of freezing or avoiding it,” Holbrook said.

Bellmer remembers Walker as one who always loved a challenge, she said.

“When she encountered a problem, she didn’t give up,” Bellmer said. “She went straight to Googling and problem-solving on her own.”

After graduation, Walker and her husband moved to Houston to be closer to family, she said. Walker remembers driving by the NASA Johnson Space Center and noticing the employee gate.

“You have the tourism side, and then you have the side that the employees get to go in,” Walker said.

Walker recalled being mesmerized on her first day at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

“It was kind of crazy on my first day,” Walker said.

She received her employee badge and was able to enter the building.

“It was so surreal getting to go through the locked doors I never thought I could go through and then walking into my building and looking over and seeing Mission Control Center,” she said.

Walker said she knew about the space food systems lab at NASA Johnson Space Center.

“I thought, ‘That would be really cool, but that’s never going to happen to me,’” she said.

Holbrook and Walker used to talk in college about how cool it would be to work in space food production.

“Now it is a reality for her,” Holbrook said. “There is truly nothing better than watching your friends achieve their goals, especially when you’ve seen the hard work they put in behind the scenes. I think we could all take a page out of her book.”

 Story by Frances Pierce | Cowboy Journal