Northeast Utilities to be Title Sponsor of New England's Largest Robotics Competition Through 2012

HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecticut FIRST® is pleased to announce the return of New England's largest robotics competition to downtown Hartford this spring with the support of new title sponsor Northeast Utilities.

Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the Northeast Utilities FIRST Regional Robotics Competition April 1-3, 2010, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Northeast Utilities will be the title sponsor through 2012 as the result of a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Northeast Utilities Foundation.

NU has a long history of supporting Connecticut FIRST through the donations and technical expertise of the employee volunteers of The Connecticut Light & Power Co., Yankee Gas Services Co., and NU's other operating companies. The NU Foundation is also the sponsor of the Connecticut Science Center's Forces in Motion Gallery, which hosts a robotics exhibit featuring FIRST robots from prior years of the competition.

"The students involved in this competition are the innovators and problem-solvers we need in tomorrow's workforce," said Pat McCullough, president and executive director of the Northeast Utilities Foundation. "We're excited to support this competition and inspire our young people to pursue science and learning."

"We enthusiastically welcome Northeast Utilities' support and a commitment that will contribute to the growth of our regional competition," said Connecticut FIRST Regional Director Sue Glasspiegel.

For a fifth consecutive year, the competition is taking place at the Connecticut Convention Center. Prior title sponsor United Technologies Corp. plans to sponsor the national FIRST championship in Atlanta and provide continued financial support to the regional event and student teams nationwide.

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. 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 the support of many of the world's most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge for high school students, FIRST LEGO® League for children 9-14 years old, and Junior FIRST LEGO® League for 6-9 year olds. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.

Connecticut FIRST (CT FIRST) is the regional planning and operating organization for FIRST. To learn more about CT FIRST, please visit www.ctfirst.org, or contact Sue Glasspiegel FIRST Regional Director at [email protected] or 860-651-9994.

The Northeast Utilities Foundation, established by NU in 1998 and supported by Northeast Utilities' operating companies (Connecticut Light & Power Co., Yankee Gas Services Co., Western Massachusetts Electric Co. and Public Service of New Hampshire), has benefited charitable partners in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire with total donations of more than $12 million. The Foundation's focus areas are education for workforce development, environmental leadership and economic development. For more information on the Northeast Utilities Foundation, please visit www.northeastutilitiesfoundation.org.

SOURCE Connecticut FIRST