LEWISTON — The 10th annual Mount David Summit, Bates College’s celebration of student academic achievement, begins at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, in Pettengill Hall on the campus.

The summit offers short talks, panel discussions, readings, a photography exhibition, film screenings and poster presentations highlighting student work and research.

Following the daytime activities will be performances by the Bates College Choir and the Bates College Modern Dance Company. The event is open to the public at no cost.

The first Mount David Summit took place at Bates College in 2002. Jill N. Reich, dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs, had the idea of dedicating a day to showcasing the excellence of student work at Bates.

“As students begin to generate new knowledge, they need to communicate what they know, defend their ideas and share their insights,” Reich said in a prepared statement.

“The summit provides a moment when students, faculty, staff, families and community members can learn from our students,” she stated. “The students become our teachers.”

The first Mount David Summit featured the work of 50 students. This year, more than 350 will take part, presenting work in concurrent sessions during the afternoon in Pettengill Hall.

Then, at 7:30 p.m. a Modern Dance Company performance in Schaeffer Theatre will present the work of student choreographers in collaboration with student composers and lighting designers. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $3 for students and seniors. For tickets or more information, call 786-6161 or 786-8294, or visit www.batestickets.com.

At 8 p.m. in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, the College Choir will perform two masterpieces by Franz Joseph Haydn: “Te Deum” and “Missa in Angustiis” (better known as the “Lord Nelson Mass”). Admission is free, but tickets are required. Contact 786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu to reserve seats or learn more.

According to the college, this year’s summit presentations include:

* More than 100 posters in a host of disciplines. Topics range from drug-resistant bacteria to dam removal on the Penobscot River, from tax evasion in Pakistan to turtle conservation in Bali.

* Posters and talks by psychology and neuroscience students exploring human behavior in realms such as post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, training teachers of special education, drug and nicotine addiction and withdrawal, the reliability of eyewitness testimony and behaviors around social networking.

* Readings of work by creative-writing thesis students and student poets.

* Talks by history thesis students on subjects ranging from the Punic Wars to race relations in Colonial New York to recent legal reforms in Japan.

* Student films on teenage dress in Senegal and on college and community.

* Short talks on their thesis research by majors in anthropology, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, geology, mathematics, politics, sociology, Spanish, and women and gender studies.

* A round-table discussion on public scholarship presented by students working in the community through the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates.

* Panels exploring the study-abroad experience. One group of students will present research conducted abroad, while other students and faculty will look at the impact on study abroad of social media like Skype and Facebook.

* Discussions of work undertaken by students who have held internships at the Bates Museum of Art and other museums.

For more information,go to www.bates.edu/mt-david-summit.xml or call 753-6952.

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