PRG Classifier wins Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Wisconsin’s Third District
Rep. Van Orden has named Aditi Muduganti, a 10th grader at Onalaska High School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Wisconsin’s Third District.
When asked what inspired the creation of PRG Classifier, the student said, “I was inspired to create this app because Polar Ring galaxies are often overlooked as they are very rare, and there have not been any AI classification methods made specific to them. I wanted to contribute to the catalog of Polar Ring galaxies because there are only around 180 that have been identified. By finding more Polar Ring galaxies, scientists can have a more detailed understanding of how the universe could have formed. By having a better understanding of the morphologies of galaxies, different galaxies’ morphologies can also be determined like the smooth and disk galaxies. When I created this app, I also wanted to create a more convenient solution for astronomers and astrophysicists because when identifying galaxies with a human eye, it is susceptible to errors which can cause confusion.”
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.