Washington: Several Indian-American students were among the national champions honoured at the White House on Tuesday as First Lady Melania Trump recognised winners of the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge, a nationwide competition that drew more than 20,000 participants
The Indian-origin winners included a five-member team from Aldie, Virginia, whose “Friendzone Chatbot Bullying Prevention App” won the Elementary School Track 2 category. The team comprised Aarna Jaiswal, Eshani Khatri, Riva Madda, Samhitha Pinnamareddy and Sanuli Rathnayake.
Another winning team included Viha Iyer, Arya Pratap and Shrimayi Shetty of NorthStar Middle School in Sammamish, Washington. Their project, “SkillUp”, won the Middle School Track 1 category.
In the high school division, Khandakar Mahin of Upper Darby Senior High School in Pennsylvania captured the national title in Track 1 for his project, “Utilising Computer Vision for Hotel Room Identification in Criminal Investigations”. Organisers said Mahin will graduate from high school this week and attend Harvard University in the autumn.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, the First Lady praised the students and described them as America’s future innovators.
“It is wonderful to see this very impressive group of innovators at the White House. I’m proud that you represent the best of America. You are our future,” she said.
The Presidential AI Challenge attracted entries from all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Department of Defence schools overseas.
“The first Presidential AI Challenge was broadly welcomed across our nation. More than 20,000 students participated across all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 49 Department of War schools in 10 countries around the world,” Melania Trump said.
The First Lady said the competition was designed to encourage innovation and help young people explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence.
“Today is about opening doors. When new doors open, passions flow, courage blossoms, and dreams are realised. AI inspires,” she said.
She urged participants to “continue to build boldly” and help “safeguard America’s leading position in the world of technology”.
According to the White House, winning projects addressed a wide range of challenges, including education, bullying prevention, criminal investigations, accessibility for visually impaired people and urban development.
The event also recognised two educator champion teams from North Carolina and New Jersey. Following the ceremony, participants attended a reception in the White House Rose Garden.
Artificial intelligence has emerged as a major focus of US education and technology policy as Washington seeks to maintain its competitive edge in advanced technologies. Policymakers have increasingly encouraged AI literacy and innovation among students.
Indian-Americans have long been prominent in the US technology sector, leading major companies, research institutions and start-ups. Their strong representation among the winners reflects the growing role of Indian-origin students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education across the United States.
(IANS)
