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AT&T Announces $50,000 Donation to University of Central Florida to Continue Funding for Battlefield Simulation Technologies

Posted on: Thursday, 31 August 2006, 09:00 CDT

ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The AT&T Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AT&T Inc. , today announced the donation of $50,000 to the University of Central Florida (UCF) to help fund continued graduate work in the live simulation technologies field. The donation is twice as large as last year's grant and the third donation that AT&T has made in three years.

The Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith Simulation and Training Technology Center, which is located in the Central Florida Research Park, is where the graduate work will continue. This UCF partnership facility also houses the U.S. Army's Research Development and Engineering Command simulation and training research activity, under the guidance of UCF's Institute for Simulation and Training.

"I am honored to participate in today's generous donation from AT&T. This donation is the key component of a public-private partnership that benefits education and develops real-world technology to train our military before being deployed to the battlefield," said Congressman Tom Feeney, a strong supporter of the UCF and it's programs. "The AT&T grant allows the University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Technology to develop cutting-edge programs that have placed the UCF and the high-tech corridor at the forefront of modeling and simulation research. It is an honor to once again participate in today's announcement."

Several years ago, the UCF developed multidisciplinary master's and Ph.D. degree programs in modeling and simulation. In the last five years, more than 140 U.S. graduate students have made significant contributions to the modeling and simulation research.

The continuing generous support of AT&T has helped the UCF advance simulation and training research and cultivate the next generation of scientists working to provide the U.S. military with the latest training technology," UCF President John Hitt said. "These gifts support research aimed at ensuring that the men and women serving our country remain the best-trained in the world."

During the last few years, AT&T Government Solutions' (a business unit of AT&T Inc.) Orlando operations has helped the U.S. Army modernize its simulation training and testing technology by incorporating global positioning systems and wireless communications devices. As a result, the U.S. Army is working to deploy non-line-of-sight simulation, which provides the Army troops with more realistic, simulated battlefield conditions so they are better-prepared for real combat scenarios.

"By using next-generation technology to deliver more realistic and accurate training, live simulation battlefield training can help troops prepare for all kinds of battle scenarios," said Don Herring, president of AT&T Government Solutions. "AT&T is proud of our continued support of this important program and the critical achievements that this partnership has accomplished."

The event will take place at the SFC Paul Ray Smith Science, Technology and Training Center (STTC), Research Park, Orlando, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 1, 2006. The agenda will include refreshments, brief remarks by representatives of AT&T, the STTC, the UCF and by Congressman Feeney, followed by a check presentation.

This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss .

AT&T Government Solutions, headquartered in Vienna, Va., is a long-standing, trusted source of information technology solutions for the federal government, integrating unmatched network resources and professional services expertise with innovative technologies from AT&T Labs and industry-leading partners. Best known for network leadership in voice, data, video and managed services, AT&T Government Solutions is a proven solutions integrator, with professional services expertise in areas such as business transformation, knowledge management, training, program management, systems engineering and security.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 57.3 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at http://www.att.com/ .

Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.

The new AT&T Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AT&T Inc., supports programs that build communities and improve access to information technologies, technology training and professional skills development. The new AT&T Foundation will provide more than $60 million in 2006 in charitable contributions, thereby, placing it among the top five largest corporate foundations in the country. The new AT&T Foundation combines more than 40 years and $1.7 billion of philanthropic commitment to communities across the country.

The University of Central Florida in Orlando is a metropolitan research university with programs of national and international prominence in life sciences (biotechnology), optics and lasers, nanotechnology, nursing, teacher education and modeling and simulation. With more than 42,000 students, UCF is the second-largest university in the state of Florida and among the fastest-growing in the country. UCF's Institute for Simulation and Training is an internationally recognized research institute that focuses on advancing modeling and simulation technology and increasing our understanding of simulation's role in training and education.

AT&T Inc.

CONTACT: Alex Kepnes of Fleishman-Hillard Inc., +1-703-575-8900,alex.kepnes@fleishman.com , or Randall Williams of Univ. of Central Florida,+1-407-882-1317, or Orlando Media Contact, Kimberly Krautter of AT&T, Inc.,+1-404-229-1073, kimberly.krautter@att.com

Web site: http://www.att.com/http://www.att.com/rss

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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