WEAU: Onalaska High School student receives Congressional App Challenge Award
(watch)
ONALASKA, Wis. (WEAU) - Onalaska High School sophomore, Aditi Muduganti, won the Congressional App Challenge Award for her app on identifying polar ring galaxies to help with dark matter research. Congressman Derrick Van Orden was there to present the award.
“It’s simply amazing the ability of our students here in Onalaska to forge the future. I’m super excited about this. I don’t think people quite understand there’s 750,000 people in the third congressional district, and this young lady from Onalaska High School beat them all,” says Rep. Van Orden.
Muduganti says she has enjoyed science since she was young.
“In 2019, I participated in the You Be The Chemist state competition. And after winning that, I wanted to take it one step further. I’ve had a lot of experience with coding before, and I know how to code and I have some knowledge on AI. From there I just wanted to create a project on that,” says Muduganti.
Muduganti enjoyed creating the app because of her interest in astrophysics and AI research.
“My favorite part about doing this was just learning about different types of galaxies and just getting more well-versed in planetary systems,” says Muduganti.
Rep. Van Orden says the STEM Academy is very important and he hopes that students will continue to keep interest in it.
“The clothes that you’re wearing, all of that is rooted in science. The dyes that are used in your clothes, all of that is predicated on science. When we put science aside, we’re selling ourselves short. The United States of America is the most fantastic country in the history of the world because we lead the world in science.
Mudganti plans to attend a four year university with a major in computer science. She hopes to eventually become an AI research engineer.
Mudganti’s app will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol and shown on house.Gov, the official U.S. House of Representatives website. Additionally, she will be invited to the #HouseofCode event in Washington, D.C.