The eighth annual Mount David Summit, Bates College’s annual celebration of student academic achievement, takes place April 3. More than 280 students are participating in this year’s summit. In concurrent sessions throughout the afternoon at Pettengill Hall, participants present research posters, short talks, panel discussions, a photography exhibition and film screenings.

The Mount David Summit is an opportunity for Bates students to share recent research, service-learning and creative work. More than 100 research posters represent work in Asian studies, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, Chinese, economics, education, environmental studies, history, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, politics, psychology and public health.

• Friday, April 3, at 2:30 p.m.
• 4 Andrews Road (Alumni Walk)

Since its dedication in 1986, the Bates College Museum of Art has maintained a special relationship with the college’s Department of Art and Visual Culture. Part of this is a commitment to supporting the work of Bates students through the museum’s annual Senior Exhibition. The exhibition highlights work selected from the thesis projects of graduating seniors majoring in Studio Art.

Thesis projects vary from student to student, each pursuing an individual interest. The emphasis of the program is to create a cohesive body of related works through sustained studio practice and critical inquiry. The year-long process is overseen by Art faculty, and culminates in this exhibition.

But anyway, a lot of things were the same: I had a pre-Thanksgiving day brunch with friends and ate dinner while watching Hardball. But, as I said before, things were different too.

The difference began with actually leaving Maine to go to Connecticut. I didn’t just have to make sure there were not apple rinds in the garbage can before grabbing my dirty laundry, locking my dorm room door and leaving. I had an entire apartment to which I had to do things. And I wasn’t quite sure what I needed to do. I brought a near empty container of plain yogurt, a few carrots and 2 beers across the hall to my roommate who wasn’t leaving until later that week. I then emptied the trash, turned out the lights, made sure dishes were clean and power strips were off. Made sure the arrow on the Thermostat was a tiny bit after 65 (why I chose this I didn’t know, I needed however, to make sense of the situation and 65.78 degrees seemed less likely to let the pipes freeze than say… 65. So once I figured that all out I locked the door and left, praying that everything would be fine when I returned. [More...]

Why did you decide to major in physics?

I’ve always enjoyed thinking about things larger than the world we live in. It has always fascinated me that we are able to study and understand what is way beyond our physical reach, and I always wanted to be a part of trying to understand that.

I’ve been really interested in being an astronaut since I was in third grade. This got me interested in science and physics, and now that I’m older I’m still trying to pursue my dream of becoming an astronaut.

Tell me about your research projects.

Last year I did an independent study titled “Stellar Structure” under the instruction of physics professor Eric Wollman. We did lab work measuring the properties of stars and light sources. We also derived and applied four fundamental equations for the physical structure of stars, and verified an existing solar model using these four equations.

I’m also writing my thesis in astronomy — more specifically in stellar structure. I’m constructing a computational model of a star, and from there I hope to be able to model some unconventional stars. I’m still working with Professor Wollman.

During summer 2008 you took part in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Indiana University in Bloomington. What were you doing?

I did theory work in two-dimensional quantum mechanics — the study of systems of particles on the atomic scale. I was at a desk doing a lot of computer programming. I really enjoyed it. Not only did I learn a lot and get good programming experience, but also was able to see the professional physics field first hand.

What is your impression of the future of women in physics?

At Bates I’ve never experienced any issues with being a woman in physics. While I think there still are people in the physics world who look down on women trying to make their way in that field, my impression is that the vast majority of people don’t consider gender, just the person’s work itself.

I think many of the stereotypes of women in science are being overcome and women are not being judged or held back nearly as much as they used to even 30 years ago. Of course I won’t know any of this for sure until I’m out in the field myself.

What makes you good at what you do?

I’m very persistent and will not give up until I am completely satisfied with my results. This is especially important in the lab. You need to be patient and willing to try things 20 times to get them right. This also helps with long problem sets, because you can’t give up on those until you figure out the answer.

What happens after Bates?

I’d like to attend graduate school and get a Ph.D. In the long run I would like to be doing astrophysical research somewhere.

— by Erin Bond ’09

As a student volunteer fellow at the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, Nate Kellogg ’09 coordinates volunteer activities for Bates sports teams and clubs. He recruited the women’s soccer team to dress as characters for a children’s Halloween festival in Lewiston, for example, and got some a cappella groups to perform for local elderly citizens. “I play soccer and lacrosse, and I’ve found this is a great way to combine athletics and volunteerism,” he says.

Kellog says that a course he took, “The Public Work of Academics,” taught by Anna Bartel of the Harward Center, has been critical in helping him do better volunteer work, clarifying the dynamics and making the relationship most effective between the organizations offering help and the community partners receiving it. As part of the course, he helped teach English-Language Learners, many of them Somali immigrants, at Lewiston Middle School.

“I also wrote a paper examining the undergraduate thesis as a form of public scholarship,” Kellogg says. “I looked at two examples – ‘Teach for America, ‘ which came out of Wendy Kopp’s thesis at Princeton, and ‘Lots to Gardens,’ which Kirsten Walter ’00 started as part of her environmental studies thesis here at Bates. I’m now thinking deeply about my own senior thesis. For the moment, I’m split between two topics: revealing the Harward Center’s important role in the college’s public image or demonstrating how greater support of athletics at Bates would benefit the institution as a whole.”

Mount David Summit 2008

The slide show features what has become a dynamic tradition at Bates: the annual Mount David Summit, held this year on March 28. An eagerly anticipated presentation of student scholarship, service-learning and creative work, the summit unfurls a panorama of the rich life of the student mind at Bates. [More...]

Taegan McMahon '07

A childhood trip to the rainforests of Costa Rica introduced Taegan McMahon ’07 to poison dart frogs. Immediately, she was smitten. “They are very cool and absolutely beautiful,” she says.

Back home to Noank, Conn., McMahon raised them as pets. By sophomore year at Bates, she knew the inch-and-a-half amphibian would be a big part of her biology senior thesis.

Advised by Assistant Professor of Biology Ryan Bavis, she investigated how acid rain — a relatively new rainforest phenomenon — might affect the growth of the dart-frog species Epipedobates tricolor. [More...]

“I was good at it,” he says. As a sophomore, Duchette took his first geology course with Professor Mike Retelle. After a second geology course, with Professor Dyk Eusden, “I was pretty much hooked. They’re both good professors and good people to work with.”

Of course, geology is history. A summer 2005 community-based research grant from the Bates College Harward Center for Community Partnerships allowed Duchette to work for the Maine Geological Survey investigating sediment deposits from the last ice age in the nearby Buckfield Quadrangle. Duchette’s senior thesis focuses on a period about 12,000 years ago in Androscoggin County’s Martin Stream River Valley, where he’s researching the glacial movements and deposits. [More...]

Pamela Baker

Associate Professor of Biology and Biological Chemistry Pamela Baker’s recent studies of periodontal disease add up to more than another warning about how important it is to brush one’s teeth.

Her work gets right down to your bones, straight through the marrow, where she tries to understand the immune system’s cellular mechanisms for regulating bone mass. [More...]