Lanternfly Reporter wins Rep. Robert Bresnahan’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania’s Eighth District
Rep. Robert Bresnahan has named David Colburn of Dallas High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania’s Eighth District. Their app Lanternfly Reporter enables people to report lanternflies in Pennsylvania to the Department of Agriculture.
When asked what inspired the creation of Lanternfly Reporter, David Colburn said, “The inspiration for Lanternfly Reporter came when I learned about the widespread issues caused by lanternflies in our area. I learned that they are a highly destructive invasive species that damages crops and plants. If the lanternflies are not stopped, they could destroy agriculture in Pennsylvania. After learning about this, I checked for an easy way to report lantern flies; however, I soon learned that there wasn’t one. So I made this app to make it easy for people to report lanternflies to the Department of Agriculture.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.