DermiDetect wins Rep. Bill Foster’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Illinois’s 11th District
Rep. Foster has named Riyan Jain, a 10th grader at Illinois Math and Science Academy, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Illinois’s 11th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of DermiDetect, the student said, “Last year, my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, underwent surgery, and endured multiple rounds of extensive chemotherapy. During one of his visits, the doctor emphasized the importance of early diagnosis and how it can be the difference between life and death for many cancer patients. That got me interested in creating an app that can help society diagnose cancer at an early stage. I decided to focus on skin cancer because early detection can make a big difference – 99% of cases can be treated if detected at an early stage. Moreover, skin cancer produces visible symptoms which could be analyzed by an AI software for diagnoses without visiting a doctor.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.