Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), announced today the winning submission for the 2021 Congressional App Challenge (CAC).The 2021 app competition was open to private, public and home-schooled students in middle and high school who reside and/or attend school in the 26th Congressional District of Texas.
This year’s winning app was created by a team of four Frisco ISD students: Iishaan Inabathini - Reedy High School, Abhiram Nandiraju – Frisco High School, Sreeja Surisetti – Reedy High School, and Ratik Kasarla – Reedy High School. The 2021 winning team was inspired to create “Teen Addiction Shield.” This app allows parents to submit a weekly form about their child’s health and analyzes the parent’s answers and displays the potential risk level for substance abuse by their teenager. The app also lists helpful steps and measures that parents can take to address a possible problem with their child’s health. Their winning entry will bed is played electronically in the U.S. Capitol building next year, along with other winning entries from participating congressional districts across the country. The winning apps will also be posted on the U.S. House of Representatives’ website and the Congressional App Challenge website for one year. View “Teen Addiction Shield” here.
“Congratulations to Iishaan, Abhiram, Sreeja and Ratik for their winning app. I am amazed by the creativity of all the students that participated in this year’s contest,” said Burgess.
Students from Pioneer Heritage Middle School in Frisco, Tom Harpool Middle School in Argyle, The Colony High School, Frisco High School, and Reedy High School in Frisco submitted entries in this year’s contest. An expert three-judge panel reviewed student submissions. Returning panelists were Dr. Stephani Ludi, Professor, Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, and Co-Director of Research in the Software Engineering Lab at the University of North Texas’ Department of Science & Engineering; and Ms. Susan Svane, Chair, Information Technology & Computer Science Division at North Central Texas College. The newest panelist was Dr. Jian Zhang, Professor, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science at Texas Woman’s University.
The Congressional App Challenge is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage middle and high school students to participate in STEM, learn coding and inspire their pursuit of careers in computer science. Over 7,500 students across the nation participated in this year's Congressional App Challenge, coding over 2,075 fully functioning apps. The Congressional App Challenge is the most prestigious national prize for students in computer science!
For further information about the Congressional App Challenge, visit www.CongressionalAppChallenge.us or contact Robin Vaughan, Deputy District Director, in Congressman Burgess’ Lake Dallas district office byemail:robin.vaughan@mail.house.gov or phone: 940-497-5031.
