Congressman DeSaulnier Announces 2024 Congressional App Challenge Winner
Walnut Creek, CA – Today, Congressman DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced that Anish Ummadi, Josh Zeng, Vikrant Ganesan, and Sudith Thota of Dublin are the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge (CAC) for California’s 10th Congressional District.
Ummadi, Zeng, Ganesan, and Thota, all seniors at Dublin High School, created the NeuroChess app, which utilizes AI-powered neural analysis of chess games to help improve focus and cognitive skills for individuals with ADHD. Additionally, the app provides comprehensive lessons to help players improve and seeks to build a community of chess players by fostering collaborative learning.
“Each year, the Congressional App Challenge allows students in our community to hone their coding skills and showcase their creativity,” said Congressman DeSaulnier. “As always, I’m very impressed by the talent and ingenuity demonstrated by these students. Thank you to all of the participants in this year’s competition and congratulations to Anish, Josh, Vikrant, and Sudith!”
This year’s winning team was selected by a panel of judges from the STEM and education fields, all of whom live or work in California’s 10th Congressional District.
The CAC is a public initiative to encourage young people to learn how to code in an effort to inspire creativity and encourage interest in STEM education. In the first seven years of the competition, the CAC has inspired over 40,000 students across all 50 states to create an original app.