April 23-26 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, Mo.--Mouser Electronics, Inc., a leading engineering resource and global authorized distributor of semiconductors and electronic components, will sponsor this week's 2014 FIRST® Championship, set for April 23-26 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Mouser will be the sponsor of the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) Hall of Fame area at the event, along with TE Connectivity and Altera.

Through FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), students in grades K-12 are engaged in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills. The FIRST Robotics Competition, one of four FIRST programs, provides high-school students with a "real-world engineering" experience.

"Mouser is dedicated to inspiring and fostering young people's interest in science and technology, and we are proud to sponsor an event that celebrates the brightest young minds of today and the engineers of the future," said Kevin Hess, Mouser's Vice President of Technical Marketing. "The FIRST Championship event puts the spotlight on innovative students from around the world who are solving real-world engineering challenges."

The FRC Hall of Fame exhibit at the FIRST Championship, co-sponsored by Mouser, TE and Altera, highlights the past recipients of the Chairman's Award - the highest honor awarded in FRC. This award goes not to the team that earns the most points in the competition, but to the team that best exemplifies the goals and values of FIRST. The FRC Hall of Fame celebrates past winners of the Chairman's Award, and holds them up as examples for other teams to emulate.

Mouser will also staff a large booth in the exhibition hall featuring its unique capabilities as the design-fulfillment distributor offering the newest products and advanced technologies from over 500 manufacturers. Mouser stocks the newest products from TE and Altera, along with other leading manufacturers. To learn more, visit http://www.mouser.com.

Mouser was a major sponsor of the FRC Regional Competition in Irving, TX, and a contributor of the FRC Kits of Parts (KoP) in partnership with the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA). Each FRC team receives a KoP, which includes motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, and a mix of automation components - with no instructions.

Teams had six weeks to transform their kit into a working robot designed to perform specific tasks. This year's competition is the Aerial AssistSM. Mouser has been a major supporter of the FRC Regional and FIRST Championship for the past several years. To learn more about Mouser's support of FIRST, visit www.mouser.com/first.

With its broad product line and unsurpassed customer service, Mouser caters to design engineers and buyers by delivering What's Next in advanced technologies. Mouser offers customers 20 global support locations and stocks the world's widest selection of the latest semiconductors and electronic components for the newest design projects. Mouser Electronics' website is updated many times per day and searches more than 10 million products to locate over 4 million orderable part numbers available for easy online purchase. Mouser.com also houses an industry-first interactive catalog, data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, and engineering tools.

About Mouser Electronics

Mouser Electronics, a subsidiary of TTI, Inc., is part of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway family of companies. Mouser is an award-winning, authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor, focused on the rapid introduction of new products and technologies to electronic design engineers and buyers. Mouser.com features more than 4 million products online from more than 500 manufacturers. Mouser publishes multiple catalogs per year providing designers with up-to-date data on the components now available for the next generation of electronic devices. Mouser ships globally to more than 400,000 customers in 170 countries from its 492,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility south of Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit http://www.mouser.com.

About TE CONNECTIVITY

TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL) is a $13 billion world leader in connectivity. The company designs and manufactures products at the heart of electronic connections for the world's leading industries including automotive, energy and industrial, broadband communications, consumer devices, healthcare, and aerospace and defense. TE Connectivity's long-standing commitment to innovation and engineering excellence helps its customers solve the need for more energy efficiency, always-on communications and ever-increasing productivity. With nearly 90,000 employees in over 50 countries, TE Connectivity makes connections the world relies on to work flawlessly every day. To connect with the company, visit: www.TE.com.

About Altera

Altera® programmable solutions enable designers of electronic systems to rapidly and cost effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Altera offers FPGAs, SoCs, CPLDs, ASICs and complementary technologies, such as power management, to provide high-value solutions to customers worldwide. For more information, visit www.altera.com.

About FIRST®

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $19 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC® ) for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC® ) for Grades 7-12; FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL® ) for Grades 4-8; and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL®) for Grades K-3. Gracious Professionalism® is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.