SimLab wins Rep. Tony Gonzales’ 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’ 23rd District
Rep. Tony Gonzales has named Constantine Chiu, Siddharth Amaradhi, and Archangel Cordero of Ronald Reagan High School, as the winner of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’ 23rd District.
When asked what inspired the creation of SimLab, the student said, “In our physics class, we used an online software tool for our virtual physics lab. Unfortunately, due to data variability and how the simulation calculated physical constants, everyone reported errors exceeding 1000% in their lab reports.
This experience ignited a passion within our team of coding enthusiasts to create a tool that would not only assist in lab work but also visually represent physics concepts. During our research, we found that there wasn’t a tool that met all of our needs; most were either too simplistic or overly complex for effective analysis. This realization motivated us to develop a product that would address our requirements.
In the planning stages of our app development, we identified suitable open-source physics libraries, specifically Pymunk and Pygame. These modules had extensive tutorials available, which inspired us to start building initial versions of the app.
After several iterations, we shifted our focus to developing a web-based app instead of a downloadable executable. This change also motivated us to include a graphing tool that enables complex analysis, facilitates the creation of physics-related questions, and allows for easier debugging on the software side.”
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.