Vision of Grove Demo (Photo – Screengrab from YouTube)
Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) announced the winners of her 2024 Congressional App Challenge for middle and high school students in the West San Gabriel Valley.
By News Desk
This annual computer science competition, hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives, encourages students to learn how to code and inspires them to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields.
A record 67 apps were submitted to this year’s competition. The winner, Kelly Zhang of Polytechnic School, Pasadena, submitted the app Vision of Grove, designed to assist local government and NGOs in the Sundarbans – the world’s largest mangrove forest in South Asia. This geospatial app uses satellite imagery to analyze mangrove loss and assess community vulnerability, offering actionable insights to prioritize disaster relief, reforestation projects, and defense measures. Her app can also help individuals assess whether they are in a high-risk area to best protect themselves in the case of an impending cyclone.
Rep. Chu said: “STEM courses are so valuable for our youth and their futures, and the powerful skills gained from coding and programming will help our nation remain at the forefront of global technological progress and advancements. Our record number of submissions came from talented young coders who worked collaboratively to fix a host of problems facing the world. I’m proud of all our winners and everyone who participated in the competition. Congratulations to each one of them!”
The winners were chosen by a panel of expert judges from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Motiv Space Systems who made their decisions based on the app’s purpose, concept, technicality, creativity, and design. The winning app, Vision of Grove, will be displayed on the Congressional App Challenge Website and on a digital display in the Capitol Building.
List of winners
- First Place:
Vision of Grove by Kelly Zhang (See video) - Second Place:
EyeSpeak by Drexel Ngo, Alina Ramos, Evan Lau, and Athicha Chanpradub (See video) - Third Place:
MPC Lab by Tony Kan (See video) - Fourth Place:
meloSign by Carie Chen and Carol Chen (See video) - Honorable Mention:
SafeSurf Academy by Theo Lim, Aedric Hollins, and Devin Yi (See video) - Honorable Mention:
MMSE Device by Siddarth Payasam (See video) - Honorable Mention:
MediTrack by Anika Jha (See video) - Honorable Mention:
Elderly Fall Detection App and Device Based on Flutter Platform by James Toche (See video) - Honorable Mention:
Backyard-Map by Marc Jiang (See video)
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