BUTTE — Montana Tech junior Avery Carlson sat in the HPER Complex's hall of fame room and chatted about some research work she's done on campus involving fuel cells.
"I look at anode materials for solid oxide fuel cells and how carbon formation occurs on them using syn gas, which is hydrogen and carbon monoxide," said Carlson. "So we can see the intermediates that form and how that affects carbon formations.
"We're using this substance called Nickel BZY and then applying syn gas to it and that forms carbon as a byproduct," she said. "We're trying to understand what intermediates occur in that reaction to mitigate that process."
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Complex stuff, but it's nothing the guard for the Oredigger women's basketball team can't handle. The Havre product and biological sciences major is an aspiring physician and is as driven in her studies as she is on the court.
"I've had great teachers along the way," said Carlson. "I find school really interesting so that helps a lot. And I think the intensity in basketball and other sports I played in high school carries over into the classroom. I've been taught that my whole life."
And she gave a lot of credit for her drive to succeed to her upbringing in her Hi-Line hometown.
"I think the town of Havre is so supportive," said Carlson. "I think you have people that push you there. I think they push you to reach heights which is so important for a young mind. Just people telling you, 'You can do this,'"
Carlson has been a key contributor for the 8-1 Orediggers who are a top-25 team for the first time in program history and currently on a three-game win streak. She's second on the team in assists this season and sixth in scoring with average of 6.9 points per game.
"The intensity, the competition, the chemistry...we're reaching everyday another level," said Carlson. "I think we have a group of girls that wants to be better every single day."
So whether she's dishing out an assist to a teammate or studying carbon formation in a lab, expect Carlson to continue bringing an all-or-nothing mindset to what she's doing at Montana Tech.
"I enjoy a challenge for sure," said Carlson. "That's what basketball provides me with, that's what schooling provides me with. Nothing easy is worthwhile, I always try to tell myself that."
