Mouser Electronics Empowers Next Generation of Engineers as Registration Sponsor of 2026 FIRST Robotics Championship

DALLAS & FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 21, 2026--

Mouser Electronics, Inc., the New Product Introduction (NPI) leader™ empowering innovation, today announces its continued sponsorship of FIRST® Robotics Competition, which inspires innovation and fosters well-rounded skills in tens of thousands of young people around the world every year. Mouser will be the registration sponsor of the FIRST Championship, planned for April 29 – May 2 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. At the Championship, Mouser will exhibit in the Innovation Faire, where a special appearance will be given by the Mouser-sponsored BattleBots competitors, Team HUGE.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421546621/en/

"Engineering is at the heart of who we are at Mouser. We are proud to continue sponsoring an educational STEM program that supports the brightest young minds and future engineers," said Kevin Hess, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Mouser Electronics. "The FIRST Robotics Competition provides students with a platform for innovation, a chance to solve real engineering challenges, and an opportunity to build character and self-esteem."

Since 2014, Mouser has been a major supporter of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a leading youth-serving nonprofit advancing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education through hands-on robotics programs. Mouser proudly supports FIRST Texas Championships and FIRST Robotics teams in its local community, providing grants to high school teams across Tarrant County, Texas.

The FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of sports with the rigors of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Under strict rules and limited time and resources, student teams are challenged to build industrial-sized robots to play difficult field games in alliance with other teams while also fundraising to meet their goals, designing a team brand, and advancing respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.

To learn more about the FIRST Robotics Competition, visit https://www.mouser.com/first/. For more Mouser news and our latest new product introductions, visit https://www.mouser.com/newsroom/.

As a global authorized distributor, Mouser offers the widest selection of the newest semiconductors, electronic components and industrial automation products. Mouser's customers can expect 100% certified, genuine products that are fully traceable from each of its manufacturer partners. To help speed customers' designs, Mouser's website hosts an extensive library of technical resources, including a Technical Resource Center, along with product data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, engineering tools and other helpful information.

Engineers can stay abreast of today's exciting product, technology and application news through Mouser's complimentary e-newsletter. Mouser's email news and reference subscriptions are customizable to the unique and changing project needs of customers and subscribers. No other distributor gives engineers this much customization and control over the information they receive. Learn about emerging technologies, product trends and more by signing up today at https://sub.info.mouser.com/subscriber/.

About Mouser Electronics

Mouser Electronics is an authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor focused on New Product Introductions from its leading manufacturer partners. Serving the global electronic design engineer and buyer community, the global distributor's website, mouser.com, is available in multiple languages and currencies and features more than 6.8 million products from over 1,200 manufacturer brands. Mouser offers 28 support locations worldwide to provide best-in-class customer service in local language, currency and time zone. The distributor ships to over 650,000 customers in 223 countries/territories from its 1 million-square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution facilities in the Dallas, Texas, metro area. For more information, visit https://www.mouser.com/.

Trademarks

Mouser and Mouser Electronics are registered trademarks of Mouser Electronics, Inc. All other products, logos, and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Mouser will be the registration sponsor of the FIRST Championship, planned for April 29 – May 2 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

BRIDPORT, Vt. (AP) — An abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast is frustrating some flower and fruit farmers who have had to either harvest blooms extra early or fear they could lose some crops altogether.

Frosty nights aren't unusual this time of year. Across the region, the average date of the last frost ranges from mid-April to early June, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. But the first half of April was unusually warm for much of the region, and that, coupled with the quick drop in temperature, could cause some problems.

Boston saw temperatures climb into the high 70s (around 26 Celsius) last week, with cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. reaching temperatures in the 90s (around 32 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service. By the weekend, temperatures across the region dropped into the 50s (around 10 Celsius), with some areas in New England seeing snow showers.

And the cold continued into this week: The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for Monday night and Tuesday morning for parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

In Ohio, the warm weather pushed peach and apple trees to start budding early at Apple Hill Orchards, which includes about 80 acres (32 hectares) in Mansfield and 110 acres (45 hectares) in Fredericktown. But the temperature then dropped into the low 20s (around minus 5 Celsius), ruining one variety of peach, said owner Anne Joudrey.

“Farming is farming, and you never know what you’re gonna get, but we had a pretty good bloom, so we were expecting a pretty good crop,” she said Monday.

The apples were doing OK, she said, and it helps that the trees are planted on high ground so cold air drains away.

“We should fare pretty well, hopefully,” she said. “But you never know.”

In Vermont, the temperature swing affected operations at Understory Farm in Bridport, which grows cut flowers. Tulips that were supposed to be ready for Mother's Day in mid-May have already bloomed in the farm's greenhouses, said owner Gregory Witscher.

“That just means that we have to harvest them all at the same time,” he said. “We have to harvest them and store them with the bulbs on in crates in a walk-in cooler for longer.”

Witscher grows about 50 varieties of flowers for wholesale markets. Weather fluctuations require flexibility, he said, and it's become more common for small vegetable and flower farms to have row covers or heaters to protect plants from cold or shade cloth for extreme heat.

“With the hot weather and then the cold weather, I think it's intense, and it makes things challenging,” he said. “The longer I do this, the more I want to have as many options as possible and have a lot of tools and resources available to be extremely nimble.”

Gregory Witscher, owner of Understory Farm, harvests tulips, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Bridport, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

A tulip is pictured at Understory Farm, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Bridport, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Farmhand Samantha Martin harvests tulips at Understory Farm, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Bridport, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Tulips are pictured at Understory Farm, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Bridport, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

Gregory Witscher, owner of Understory Farm, harvests tulips, Monday, April 20, 2026, in Bridport, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)