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Bengisu Ece Bakirdere, a high school student from Türkiye, has won a gold medal at one of Asia’s top science gatherings for developing a smartphone-based method to detect a dangerous chemical in water.
Bengisu Ece Bakirdere, currently in 11th grade at Galatasaray High School in Istanbul, earned the top prize for her research at the 20th Asian Chemical Congress, held as part of the “Science Projects in Schools Showcase.”
Her project focuses on detecting phenolphthalein, a synthetic compound widely used in laboratories as a pH indicator for distinguishing acids from bases. Though phenolphthalein is colorless in neutral solutions, it turns bright pink in basic conditions. It has been found to enter wastewater and, eventually, drinking water supplies, raising concerns due to its links to cancer and respiratory irritation.
Because phenolphthalein is often colorless and present in trace amounts, detecting it in water typically requires expensive and technically demanding methods. Bakirdere’s project proposes a faster and more accessible alternative: using a smartphone to photograph the water and detect phenolphthalein content through image analysis. Her innovative method has stood out among more than 300 student projects and over 650 scientists from 48 countries.
“I can determine the level of phenolphthalein in water just by taking a photo,” Bakirdere said, summarizing the simplicity and practicality of her approach.
Bakirdere’s success has not only earned her international recognition but also caught the attention of one of the world’s most respected chemists. She was personally invited by Professor David MacMillan—co-recipient of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry—to join his research group at Princeton University after high school.
She had met MacMillan earlier this year during his visit to Galatasaray High School. According to Bakirdere, “Prof. Dr. MacMillan said that if I decide to pursue organic chemistry in the future, he would like to see me as his student at Princeton and invited me to join his post-secondary research team.”
Bakirdere, one of the top scorers in Türkiye’s nationwide high school entrance exam in 2022, continues to demonstrate her academic excellence through impactful scientific work.
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