SIGNify wins Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s (TX-30) 2020 Congressional App Challenge

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has named Mahesh Natamai and Arjun Vikram from the School Of Science And Engineering At Townview Magnet Center as the winners of the 2020 Congressional App Challenge in (TX-30).

When asked what inspired the creation of SIGNify, the students said, “There are approximately 600,000 Deaf people in the US, and with the exception of Deaf individuals and their close friends and family members, most people do not know sign language. We decided to develop an app that would bridge the gap between ASL and the English Language to make communication more inclusive for all.” 

Over 6,500 students registered for the 2020 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 3,088 functioning apps, marking the end of an extremely successful Congressional App Challenge amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, 308 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, DC.

The CAC is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host competitions 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. The Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental support. In the six years of the Congressional App Challenge, thousands of functional apps have been created by over 30,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.