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The Office of U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39) named Hudson Kaleb Dy, senior at Walnut High School, the winner of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 39th District.
As a first-generation immigrant with family in the earthquake-prone Philippines, Hudson was inspired to create an affordable earthquake warning app for developing countries.
In announcing the news, Congresswoman Kim issued the following statement:
“Californians know all too well the devastating impacts of earthquakes. Hudson’s app provides an affordable, crowd-funded early warning system for use in developing countries that cannot afford technologies like our state’s ShakeAlert system, which cost an estimated 98 million to implement and operate during its first year. This app is useful, well-executed and could save lives,” said Rep. Kim. “I am so proud of Hudson and all the incredible, dedicated students who competed in this year’s CA-39 Congressional App Challenge, the largest in App Challenge history. As co-chair of the challenge, I’m grateful that more students nationwide competed this year and learned coding and STEM concepts than ever before. STEM fields are critical to our nation’s future economy, national security, public health and global competitiveness. That is why I will always strive to create opportunities for students to gain the skills needed to succeed and tackle the challenges facing our nation and our world head-on.”
Hudson’s App, the “Affordable Crowd-Funded Earthquake Early Warning System,” creates a crowd-sourced seismic detection network converting retired smartphones into dedicated seismometers. His solution is cost-effective, keeps old smartphones out of landfills and could save lives.
Congresswoman Kim is a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and a tireless advocate for STEM education. She led the Informal Innovations in STEM Learning Act (H.R. 3859), which became law as part of the CHIPS and Science Act, to support programs that expose students to STEM concepts outside of the classroom.
Rep. Kim served as co-chair of the App Challenge, which had 9,011 students register for this year’s competition, yielding 2,707 full-functioning apps. 335 Members of Congress hosted Challenges in their districts across 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. The competition in Rep. Kim’s district was the largest in App Challenge history, with 192 student teams competing in CA-39 alone.
