SHREVEPORT, La. — Kevin Zhao, a student at Caddo Parish Magnet High School and participant in the Bobbie Cates Hicks Science and Medicine Academic Research Training (SMART) program, and his brother Aiden Zhao have been named winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District.
The brothers developed “OpenNeuroLens,” an application designed to automate electroencephalogram data analysis and visualization, with the goal of making advanced brain research more accessible and affordable for students and laboratories.
The app originated from Kevin Zhao’s research through the SMART program, where he studied cognitive performance in firefighters following intense physical exertion. His work was conducted under the mentorship of Cory Coehoorn, Ph.D., at LSU Health Shreveport.
As district winners, the Zhao brothers will be invited to the House of Code, a two-day event in Washington, D.C., that recognizes Congressional App Challenge winners nationwide. Their app will also be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, and they will receive a copyright fee waiver.
The third-place award in the district went to Steward Lokitz, also a student at Caddo Parish Magnet High School, for his app “Tank Survival.” Lokitz is the son of Stephen Lokitz, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Molecular Imaging and Therapy at BRF.
The SMART program is a partnership among BRF, LSU Health Shreveport, and the Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto parish school boards. BRF, an economic development organization based in Shreveport, has funded and coordinated the program since its launch in 1997 as part of efforts to support workforce development and innovation in north Louisiana.