Plantsol wins Rep. Eric Swalwell’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 14th District
Rep. Swalwell has named Tejasveer Chugh, an 11th grader at Amador Valley High School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 14th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Plantsol, the student said, “After doing an internship at an agricultural law firm, I became deeply interested in applying my skills in technology to improve agricultural efficiency. Plantsol stemmed from my research in plant disease and its impact on rural and underdeveloped communities. I realized that there was massive value in creating a very low-cost, easy-to-use interface through which farmers could obtain information regarding their plants’ health.
In addition, I kept in mind that I wanted Plantsol to be an app that I would use. It was sad to see one of the once thriving fruit trees in my family’s backyard become obsolete due to what we suspected was a fungal infection. Although I’m by no means a farmer, I kept this in mind while developing this app. I’m proud to believe that Plantsol could have prevented the spreading, and eventual loss of our tree, if we had access to it at the time.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
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 Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.