Rep. Peters Congratulates 2025 Congressional App Challenge Winners

San Diego, CA - Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) announced the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for middle and high school students in California's 50th Congressional District. The competition aims to engage students' creativity and encourage youth participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

"The App Challenge is one of my favorite annual events because these talented students will go on to power our region and our country's innovation economy," said Rep. Peters. "The competition gives young people a chance to develop an invaluable STEM education, embrace their creativity, and learn how to apply coding and computer design skills to solve real world problems they see in their communities. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the 2025 competition and to our winners, Kayley, Anika, Mihir, Sathwik, Aditya, Indraneel, Cameron, and Tair."

The 2025 CA50 Congressional App Challenge 1^st place winner, Kayley Xu of the Bishops School, submitted her app "Resperia." After battling severe pneumonia at age thirteen, Kayley faced weeks of conflicting diagnoses and doctors often disagreed on what they heard through a stethoscope. This highlighted a larger issue in healthcare: breathing sounds are interpreted subjectively, which can delay or miss serious conditions. Respira-from the Latin "respirare," meaning "to breathe again," addresses this problem by using AI to analyze uploaded breathing recordings to classify respiratory sounds into one of four categories: normal, crackle, wheeze, or crackle & wheeze, to provide accurate and consistent diagnostic results. Respira also includes an interactive breathing exercise game designed to make recovery more engaging-especially for children. Respira aims to empower patients, assist healthcare professionals, and make accurate respiratory diagnosis and rehabilitation available to everyone, everywhere.

The 2nd place app, Sound Track EDU, was submitted by Anika Marathe of Del Norte High School. Sound Track EDU is an app designed to make K-12 classrooms more inclusive for deaf, hard-of-Hearing, and other students who benefit from real-time access to spoken instruction. The app provides live transcription of classroom speech, peer-to-peer chat with clear speaker identification for group discussions, and discreet teacher alerts that help educators get students' attention without disruption.

The 3rd place app, CampusQuery, was submitted by Del Norte High School students Mihir Bapat and Sathwik Kintada. CampusQuery is an AI-powered chatbot platform that helps parents, students, and staff quickly find answers on school websites. Instead of searching through long pages or waiting for appointments, users can ask questions and receive instant, accurate responses. Available 24/7, CampusQuery reduces repetitive questions for school staff and provides administrators with insights into the most common user inquiries, making school communication more efficient and accessible.

The 4th place app, Scrapp, was submitted by Aditya Katre and Indraneel Adem of Del Norte High School. Scrapp is a web and mobile app designed to simplify the process of recycling and waste disposal. Instead of guessing which bin to use, users can simply take a photo of any item, and the app instantly identifies it. Scrapp provides clear, location-specific guidance on how to dispose of the item responsibly. After an image is identified, the app guides users to a separate page where they can find verified disposal locations corresponding to their uploaded items.

The 5th place app, CarbonFlow, was submitted by Cameron Kruger of The Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High and Tair Narynov of High Bluff Academy. CarbonFlow is an online marketplace platform that connects carbon-emitting businesses with buyers who can reuse carbon for several purposes. By turning captured carbon from a costly problem into a valuable resource, CarbonFlow encourages companies to take part in climate action while still benefiting economically. The platform's analytics help users understand their impact, making sustainability both measurable and profitable for businesses and communities.

The winners were chosen by a panel of local judges who made their decisions based on the app's purpose, concept, technicality, creativity, and design. The winning app, Resperia, will be displayed on the Congressional App Challenge Website and on a digital display in the Capitol Building. The first-place winner is also invited to the annual #HouseOfCode reception in Washington, D.C.

###