Greenwich High School Student Wins Prestigious Research Prize

GREENWICH, CT — Colin Speaker, a junior at Greenwich High School, was selected as the state of Connecticut winner for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. The SJWP is an international competition for original student science research projects with a focus on sustainability of the planet's water resources, according to an announcement.

Andrew Bramante, a Greenwich High School science teacher and research advisor, said he was proud of Speaker for trying to work toward a solution to a global need. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"I'm so very proud of Colin for identifying a global need that reaches well beyond our own community," Bramante said in a statement, "using his curiosity, talents, and ingenuity to devise a real, attainable solution for those that need potable water. Colin's amazing work is a result of many hours of work on evenings, weekends, and during holidays, which speaks volumes of his commitment, and love for discovery. I couldn't be more excited for him, and wish him the best moving forward in the competition!"

Speaker was selected amongst many applicants throughout the state, for his project entitled "Enhancement of the Efficiency of Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) Systems Using Riboflavin as a Photocatalyst."

According to the announcement, Speaker's project tackles the issue of lack of clean, potable drinking water, particularly in underdeveloped regions, where water purification is scarce. In particular, more than two million people in the developing world rely on solar water disinfection systems, or SODIS, to remove harmful bacteria from water supplies.

The application of these SODIS systems are limited, as they are quite large, and their overall efficiency (at removing bacteria) is often inadequate. In his research, Speaker designed an easily-constructed (for a consumer/household) SODIS, which purifies water based on a combination of UV-radiation, and the addition of 0.1 percent riboflavin, or Vitamin B, which is naturally found in our bodies.

Speaker found the addition of 0.1 percent riboflavin increased the antibacterial efficiency of the UV-based SODIS, so that virtually all bacteria is inactivated in only minutes of passing through his newlydesigned system, according to the announcement.

As the selected state of Connecticut winner, Speaker will now participate in the National SJWP Competition, which will be held virtually from June 4-11. The winner of this competition will be selected as the national winner and go on to compete in the International SJWP in Sweden.