Yakima Times

Rep. Dan Newhouse announced the winner of the 2024 Central Washington Congressional App Challenge, a competition aimed at middle and high school students for app design. The winning concept, named Canari, was created by Jeffrey Noah from Kennewick High School.

Canari is designed to assist the agricultural industry by enabling users to share issues affecting crops and food supply. It employs a database to store user reports and displays relevant threats based on location. The platform is intended as a free resource for both hobbyist gardeners and industrial farmers.

“Congratulations to Jeffrey on winning this year’s Central Washington Congressional App Challenge!” said Rep. Newhouse.

Newhouse added, “Each year, students from across Central Washington submit their app concepts and showcase their skills in the STEM field, and Canari is an excellent example of how our region’s high schoolers can utilize technology to solve problems in different industries. Thank you to all who submitted, I truly enjoyed viewing all the different apps and seeing everyone’s creativity. Congratulations Jeffrey, I am confident you will continue to learn and grow your STEM capabilities and inspire others to do the same.”

The selection of the winning app was made by expert judges from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. As part of his prize, Noah will receive a PNNL “swag bag,” and his app will be featured on video displays in the U.S. Capitol building, House.gov, and the Congressional App Challenge website.

The Congressional App Challenge (CAC) was established due to concerns about the United States lagging in STEM fields crucial for economic growth and innovation. Estimates suggest that by 2021 there could be a shortage of up to 1 million programmers in the U.S., which are high-paying jobs in demand. The CAC aims to encourage students in these areas by recognizing their efforts.