Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) announced Benjamin Xie and Mihir Bamdhamravuri as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 26th Congressional District. The students created Sentinel, an integrated web application that monitors and detects wildfires to improve safety and reduce emergency response times.
“Every year, the Congressional App Challenge underscores the creativity of our district’s young innovators. I want to congratulate Benjamin and Mihir on the development of their app, Sentinel, which is forward-thinking and designed to improve wildfire prevention, emergency response efforts, and public safety. This app turns ordinary surveillance devices into a proactive fire monitoring and detection network. Apps like these can help prevent the spread of wildfires and keep communities safe by enabling faster detection and timely intervention, and guiding emergency response to prevent tragedy,” said Congresswoman Brownley.
“I also want to congratulate all the students who took part in the Congressional App Challenge. This year, students submitted apps that address an array of issues including support for disabled veterans in accessing online resources and a tool to provide real-time feedback for dancers with special needs,” continued Brownley. “Every year, I am impressed by the collection of applications we receive, and this year was no exception. We are so fortunate to have such promising innovators in our district.”
“With over 7,000 fires in California last year alone, quick detection and response are vital to protecting lives and property. Wildfires not only destroy homes, but also displace thousands of people, devastate wildlife, and place a tremendous strain on emergency services. Sentinel uses computer vision to utilize existing camera networks, giving fire departments and first responders the real-time tools they need to assess wildfire threats faster. Looking ahead, we’re excited about future opportunities to collaborate with fire departments and expand access to this technology. Our goal is to empower them to respond more effectively and reduce the damage caused by these fires. In the future, we hope to solve many more similar issues,” said Benjamin Xie and Mihir Bamdhamravuri, the first-place winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge.
“This is an amazing accomplishment for Benjamin, Mihir, and Westlake High School,” said Jason Brahman, Principal of Westlake High School. “I am constantly in awe of not only the talent for our students, but also the thoughtfulness that our students display. Creating an app that assists with fire detection and monitoring to provide improved safety and reduced response time is truly remarkable. I would like to extend my congratulations to Benjamin and Mihir and am confident that they will continue this type of great work in the future.”
“Technology is constantly changing. Being able to adapt to these changes at an early age gives our students the extra advantage they will need when they pursue STEM majors in college and STEM careers upon graduation from college. The technology base that these competitions creates will support our country maintaining our world-wide technological advantage,” said Dr. Ramon Flores, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Outreach Coordinator for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division at Naval Base Ventura County and judge of the Congressional App Challenge.
Below are the video submissions for the first, second, and third-place winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge:
- 1st Place: Sentinel, created by Benjamin Xie and Mihir Bamdhamravuri
- 2nd Place: Veteran Assistant, created by Akshith Chalamalasetty
- 3rd Place: The Magic Mirror for Dance, created by Yequi Huang
The Congressional App Challenge is a competition organized by Members of Congress across the country for middle school and high school students to create their own software applications and gain experience with computer coding.
Submissions from students across the 26th Congressional District were judged by a panel of local judges who work within the academic, software, and entrepreneurial fields. This year’s submissions were judged by Terry Theobald, Chief Information Officer for the County of Ventura; Joaquin Licea, Chief Technology Officer for the Ventura County Office of Education; Dr. Ramon Flores, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Outreach Coordinator for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division; and Dr. Michael Soltys, Computer Science Professor at California State University, Channel Islands.
To learn more about the Congressional App Challenge, visit
https://juliabrownley.house.gov/services/the-house-student-app-challenge/
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Issues: 118th Congress, Education, Local Issues