EcoSense wins Rep. Lauren Underwood’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Illinois’ 14th District
Rep. Lauren Underwood has named Kundan Baliga of Neuqua Valley High School, Kyle Wang of Naperville North, Steven He of Neuqua Valley High School, and Aiden Xie of Naperville North as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Illinois’ 14th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of EcoSense, the students said, “Having spent our entire lives in Illinois, we’ve all witnessed the escalating frequency and intensity of severe weather. On July 15th, the National Weather Service announced at least 27 tornadoes that hit the Chicago area, setting a new record for a single day. The impacts only expand psychologically, between the wireless emergency alerts catching us off guard and our next hours suddenly being spent in the basement, the wind howling relentlessly. A particular moment that shook us was when a tornado heavily impacted and damaged the house of one of our friends. Since it was so close to home, it was terrifying for our community and made the disasters we’ve only ever seen on the news much more tangible.
While the situation worsened and related disasters made news headlines with increasing frequency, we wondered how we could complement existing tools like AccuWeather and IPAWS to mitigate climate change. Eventually, we decided to target a fundamental cause for climate disasters: the lack of information about how we, as everyday members of society, play a role in climate change.
So, we made EcoSense: an app that any citizen could use to make more environmentally friendly decisions throughout their daily lives. People can learn about not just about the major hurricanes that affect the US, but the global nature of their local decisions, from threatened marine ecosystems in Dipolog City to stubble burning in Punjab. The devices in their pockets can instantaneously classify garbage from non-garbage, and they can ask questions about the intersection between their lives and the environment anywhere they have a connection. By taking complex environmental issues, such as severe thunderstorms, and breaking them down into simple insights that influence people’s everyday decisions, we’re proud of what we’ve done and aspire for EcoSense to leave a meaningful impact on the world.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
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 the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.