Not so useful in the winter, but come summer, you might be interested in looking up this articl:

LaHood Announces Winner of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge 

Washington, D.C. – Representative Darin LaHood (IL-16) announced today that a team of four students – Saaketh Bhojanam, Sohum Mehta, Abhilash Polu, and Sonit Sahoo – from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy have won this year’s Congressional App Challenge (CAC) in Illinois’ 16th Congressional District.

The team developed an application called “BiteSense,” using Python as their programming language. 

BiteSense photographs insect bites and uses AI to identify and provide treatment advice for the bite.

“My office has been proud to host the Congressional App Challenge for the past 9 years to encourage students in the 16th Congressional District to pursue their passion in STEM fields,” said Rep. LaHood.

 “Each year, I have been amazed by the talent of our students and the creativity of the applications they put together to solve real-world problems. Congratulations to Saaketh, Sohum, Abhilash, and Sonit, and thank you to all the students who participated this year!”

The winning group will receive an invitation to demonstrate their application in Washington, D.C., have their application featured on the House of Representatives website,  www.house.gov, and receive a copyright fee waiver provided through the Arts Act.

A video link to the winning group’s [three minute] application can be found here.

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual competition hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives aimed at encouraging students to pursue careers in STEM fields.

Since its inception in 2015, the Challenge has grown to become the largest student computer science competition in the United States, with the 2024 Congressional App Challenge setting multiple records.

This year’s CAC included the participation of 12,682 students and a total of 3,881 original applications submitted from districts across the United States.

Recommended Posts