Heat wave: Farewell, workweek, hello, weekend – it’s Friday, dear readers, as this steamy five-day sprint delivers unto us another well-earned respite.
Stay hydrated and keep cool – we’ll do the heavy lifting as we wrap up this latest week of socioeconomic innovation.
Snake eyes: Taking a deeper look at the limbless, ectothermic and largely misunderstood carnivores.
Slithering into your heart: It’s July 16 out there, known globally as World Snake Day, when the scaly, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes get a little love.
Shocking revelation: It’s also National Corn Fritters Day, and frankly, we’re stunned (we honestly thought Momma Z invented them).
Less shocking, more nutritious is National Fresh Spinach Day, celebrated this and every July 16.
Farm to table to history: Spinach plays big in the U.S. Department of Energy & Environment’s Office of Urban Agriculture, which works to increase food production within the District of Columbia, which became the seat of national power 231 years ago today, when the City of Washington became the U.S. capital.
Meter reader: In other governmental-power firsts, parking meters became a thing on this date in 1935, when the first coin-operated pay-to-park machines – brainchild of attorney/journalist/part-time inventor Carl Magee – were installed in Oklahoma City.
Blast heard ’round the world: Speaking of frightening powers, Planet Earth’s first nuclear explosion was detonated on July 16, 1945, on the barren plains of New Mexico’s Alamogordo Bombing Range.
The plutonium-implosion device released 18.6 kilotons of explosive energy and turned miles of sand into green glass.
Holden tight: Salinger’s well-read masterwork.
“It isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.”: Arguably the greatest of the Great American Novels, J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” was first published 70 years ago today.
No problem, Houston: And the fabled Apollo 11 mission, carrying the first humans to walk on the moon, blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on this date in 1969.
Eight years after President John F. Kennedy set the national goal and two days after liftoff, the lunar module Eagle set down on the Sea of Tranquility – and six hours later (officially July 21 UTC), astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took their famous stroll.
Pole positions: Norwegian explorer Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (1872-1928) – the first explorer to reach the South Pole, second to fly over the North Pole (in a blimp) and a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration – would be 149 years old today.
Ready, aim, fire: Kimberly Rhode, taking her best shots.
Also born on July 16 were American religious leader Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), who founded the Church of Christ, Scientist; Dutch physicist Frits Zernike (1888-1966), whose phase-contrast microscope earned a Nobel Prize; all-time “Popcorn King” Orville Redenbacher (1907-1995); British ornithologist David Lack (1910-1973), who wrote several books that popularized natural science; and American double trap and skeet shooter Kimberly Rhode (born 1979), the first Olympian to win medals on five different continents and the first American to win medals at five consecutive Olympics.
Factcheck: And take a bow, Lawrence Sanger! The American Internet project developer and trained philosopher (focused on epistemology, the study of knowledge) – known best as the cofounder of the multilingual online encyclopedia Wikipedia – turns 53 today.
Give the encyclopedic entrepreneur your best at editor@innovateli.com, where our search for knowledge begins with your news tips and calendar events – and you can look that up.
About our sponsor: SUNY Old Westbury empowers students to own the future they want for themselves. In a small-college atmosphere and as part of a dynamic, diverse student body that today is 5,000 strong, students at Old Westbury get up close and personal with the life and career they want to pursue. Whether it’s a cutting-edge graduate program in data analytics, highly respected programs in accounting and computer-information sciences, or any of the more than 70 degrees available, a SUNY Old Westbury education will set students on a course toward success. Own your future.
BUT FIRST, THIS
In the wind: Attendees pack the Po’Boy Brewery for Tuesday’s “What’s Brewin’ Offshore” event.
Shooting the breeze: That was more than typical bar talk Tuesday evening at Port Jefferson Station’s Po’Boy Brewery, where conservationists, energy-sector insiders and elected officials gathered to discuss Long Island’s future in the offshore wind-power industry.
More than 60 people turned out for “What’s Brewin’ Offshore,” a happy-hour event focused on offshore-wind projects in Long Island waters, including the Sunrise Wind and South Fork Wind projects. Topics ranged from environmental issues to employment opportunities, with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Long Island Association President Matt Cohen joining representatives of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Danish power company Ørsted and other stakeholders for the casual-but-critical conversation.
Bellone called the offshore wind industry “the future of our Long Island economy.” Cohen predicted a “transformative impact” including new union jobs and new opportunities for small businesses along the regional supply chain. “The LIA is supportive of the planned projects as they will contribute to innovation and growth in this new leading industry sector in our region,” Cohen added.
Reading is fund-amental: A founded-on-Long Island EdTech focused on student reading intervention has snagged a $1 million Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation.
Charmtech Labs (dba Capti) – founded in 2010 by Stony Brook University assistant professor Yevgen Borodin and SBU computer science professor I.V. Ramakrishnan, incorporated in 2012 and, as of 2019, a Buffalo-based business – will use the seven-figure stipend to fund R&D work on new reading-accessibility technologies. Capti’s all-in-one solution is designed to help teachers assess and accommodate students with different reading abilities; the SBIR award is earmarked for the development of a “text simplification” system that automatically modifies text to meet an individual student’s level.
By making text more accessible to students of different abilities, the company aims to help struggling readers improve their vocabulary and reading comprehension. “Regrettably, [more than] two-thirds of K-12 students are reading below grade level,” noted Borodin, Capti’s CEO. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to make a difference and help all students become better readers.”
TOP OF THE SITE
In space, no one can hear you pitch: But on Earth, they can – and LIA President Matthew Cohen wants Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson to understand Long Island’s “space research” capabilities.
They have a lot to say: And a lot to teach, making Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast – and its A-list guests – an integral part of our innovation toolbox. Listen up.
ICYMI
The New York Emmy Awards applaud HJMT Public Relations; the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services applaud Northwell Health House Calls.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From New York City: Technology-equality organization TechPACT launches Ignite speaker series to inspire and inform those crossing the digital divide.
From Colorado: Denver-based music-streaming/voice-entertainment ace Voxprotocol grants userbase access to Amsterdam-based voice-marketing platform Cashew.ai.
From Florida: Orlando-based cybersecurity expert GLESEC launches Ransomware Protection Solution for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
ON THE MOVE
Jared Kasschau
+ Jared Kasschau has rejoined Harris Beach as a partner in its Uniondale office. He previously served as Nassau County attorney.
+ The Northport-based Visiting Nurse Service of Suffolk has announced the addition of three new board members: Patricia Matos-Puente is an internist at Northport-based Doctor in the House and will serve as board president; Susan Goulding is an occupational therapist; and Kathy Martin is a real estate professional in the Northport office of Signature Premiere Properties.
+ Carolyn Glynn has joined Mineola-based Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone as counsel in the Trusts & Estates Department. She was previously a partner at Sichenzia Ross Ference in Manhattan.
+ Christina Jonathan has been appointed to the Long Island Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. She is a partner at Garden City-based Berkman, Henoch, Peterson, Peddy and Fenchel.
BELOW THE FOLD
They adjudicate, you decide: The current Supreme Court of the United States, finding the middle ground.
Proof in the pudding: Turns out the “conservative” SCOTUS is ideologically balanced.
Lucy in the sky: NASA is launching a time capsule for future earthlings to recover.
Castles in the sand: Why digging holes at the beach is a really bad idea.
Greatness in the making: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including SUNY Old Westbury, where each student’s best future self is waiting to be discovered. Check them out.
