Daniel Eiland, Woodlawn High School Gifted/Great Scholars Social Studies teacher and an advisor to the school’s Robotics Team, recently received a $16,000 Dow Promise Grant to benefit the team. The Dow Promise Program, an employee-led initiative of The Dow Chemical Company, is designed to provide support for social, economic or environmental projects that contribute to long-term success in the communities in which Dow operates and in which Dow employees reside.
Funds from Eiland’s award will be used to offset the costs for the school’s Robotics Team, Panthrobotics, to participate in the 2012 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) season.  The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization was founded by inventor Dean Kamen to help young people discover and develop a passion for science, technology and math.  In 1989, the organization began sponsoring the FRC.

In March, the Woodlawn High School team won the FRC Bayou Regional competition with its robot, Dunker, and went on to the World Championship in St. Louis ending with a ranking of 59 out of 88 teams in their division.

The competition challenges teams of 15 to 25 high school students representing schools across the nation and their mentors to design and build robots capable of executing specific tasks within a six-week period.  Following the building period, the students bring their robots to regional and national competitions. Since its inception, the FRC has grown from 28 teams to more than 1,800 teams participating in regional and tournament events in all 50 states and 12 countries.