Crikey, it’s cold! Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as the Winter of 2022 peaks on Long Island with highs in the 20s, lows in the teens and the threat of an East Coast blizzard looming for this weekend.
It’s Jan. 26 out there – Australia Day, mate! – and we’re here to heat up your pursuit of socioeconomic greatness. Let’s innovate (quickly, before our brains freeze off)!
Grass in a glass: You could have had a V8.
Mixed messages: Today is National Green Juice Day, an homage to healthfulness (and booster shot for your faltering New Year’s resolutions), and National Peanut Brittle Day, a celebration of the buttery sugar bark (which is anything but healthful, and a significant challenge for your teeth).
Bit part: On that note, Jan. 26 is also National Dental Drill Appreciation Day. Yes, really.
For those keeping score, there is no National Novocaine Appreciation Day.
Musical states: This is a busy date for United States statehood – Michigan became the 26th state to join the Union in 1837, Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861 and Virginia rejoined the Union in 1870, all on Jan. 26.
Diamond district: Measuring 10-by-6-by-6.5 centimeters, the hefty Cullinan Diamond shattered previous records.
In the rough: The world’s largest gem-quality diamond was discovered on this date in 1905 – an astounding 3,106.75-carat rock unearthed in a South Africa mine.
One if by air, two if by sea: Daredevil aviator Glenn Curtis flew America’s first seaplane 111 years ago today, with the Flying Fish taking off and landing – after a roughly 300-yard flight – in San Diego Bay.
Roundabout: American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence applied to patent the cyclotron – a compact particle accelerator, the first with a “cyclical” shape – on this date in 1932.
The patent was finally issued (to the Research Corporation of New York) in February 1934; the atom-smasher earned Lawrence a 1939 Nobel Prize.
Easy as 1-2-3: And it was Jan. 26, 1983, when Lotus 1-2-3 – the one electronic spreadsheet program to rule them all – was released publicly.
Hailed by pundits as state-of-the-art and more user-friendly than main rival VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3 ruled the roost until Excel debuted in 1985 (but only for the Macintosh – Excel wouldn’t leap to the Windows operating system until 1987).
Put that in your pipe: MacArthur was a high school valedictorian, Old West cowboy and unmatched military man.
American Caesar: United States Army General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) – who mastered the Pacific theater during World War II and, along with his father Arthur MacArthur Jr., was part of the first father-son duo to win the Medal of Honor – would be 142 years old today.
Also born on Jan. 26 were Scottish environmentalist, civil servant and author Alexander King (1909-2007), a pioneer of ecological awareness; American actor, film director, racecar driver and entrepreneur Paul Newman (1925-2008), a major-league philanthropist; American film critic and journalist Gene Siskel (1946-1999), who was often “At the Movies” with Roger Ebert; American comedian, television host, actress, writer and producer Ellen DeGeneres (born 1958), a champion of LGBTQ rights; and American singer-songwriter Anita Baker (born 1958), queen of the “quiet storm.”
Still great: And take a bow, Wayne Douglas Gretzky! The record-shattering Canadian hockey sensation – slightly less successful as a National Hockey League owner and coach – turns 61 today.
Give The Great One your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips are a terrific assist and your calendar events always find the back of the net.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Love, Long Island-style: Three cheers for government-academia collaboration on Long Island, which was thoroughly trumpeted this week by Gov. Kathy Hochul during a visit to Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Hochul used the Upton-based, U.S. Department of Energy-funded laboratory as a backdrop for a good-news update on COVID-19 infection rates (down 66 percent statewide since Jan. 7, down 75 percent on Long Island since Dec. 31) and to drop a big old LI love bomb. Among other regional roses, the governor threw bouquets to the “synergy” between BNL and Stony Brook University – which is yet to “unleash [its] full power,” she noted – and to BNL Director Doon Gibbs, an “incredible leader.”
Hochul, who earlier Friday stopped by the Long Island Association’s State of the Region Breakfast to cheer other Island leaders, also tipped her cap to former LIA President Kevin Law, the Tritec Real Estate executive vice president and partner in line to become the new chairman of the Empire State Development Corp. “I want to thank Kevin Law for his willingness to be the chair of Empire State Development,” the governor told her BNL audience, while offering Law a piece of advice during his State Senate confirmation hearings: “Kevin, don’t screw up between now and then.”
Care package: The new Reichert Family Caregiver Center inside Huntington Hospital.
Care, Long Island-style: Leveraging a generous donation from a frequent contributor, Northwell Health has continued a recent trend with the opening of the Reichert Family Caregiver Center inside Huntington Hospital.
Located in the hospital’s main lobby, the 550-square-foot space offers a quiet corner for caregivers to meet with “caregiver coaches,” who can offer resources that assist with the day-to-day demands of caring for a sick loved one. The center was funded by a $500,000 gift from the Charles and Helen Reichert Family Foundation, which has previously lent financial support – and the family name – to Huntington Hospital’s revamped Emergency Department and the Reichert Family Imaging Center, which houses the hospital’s first 3D mammography machine.
The Reichert Family Caregiver Center, slated to be staffed by social workers and volunteer coaches, is the latest caregiver center to open in a Northwell facility, including centers in Glen Cove Hospital, North Shore University Hospital and Peconic Bay Medical Center. “The home caregiver … is often someone who sacrifices so much to care for their loved one,” noted philanthropist Charles Reichert. “Offering emotional and practical support to caregivers is critical, and we feel grateful to help make this support a reality for those in our community.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 11: Christine Riordan, head Adelphi innovator.
Leading university presidents? Nonprofit visionaries? Top-shelf inventors? Master networkers? Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast dialogues them all.
Sponsored by clean-energy pioneer ThermoLift and its remarkable TC3, Season 2 entertains, educates and enlightens straight from the front row of Long Island innovation. Listen up.
TOP OF THE SITE
Risky business: A Huntington-based marketing master has helped an established, successful energy-efficiency consultancy complete a (careful) corporate rebrand.
Meet the meta: Stony Brook’s Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology is gearing up for its annual hackathon, with the entire metaverse in play.
Give and take: Thank you in advance for sharing this fantastic newsletter with your fellow innovators. Always-easy, always-free subscriptions for the whole team? You’re welcome.
VOICES
Environmental, social and governance factors are increasingly influencing corporate decision-making – and private investors must embrace the ESG movement, according to Voices legal anchor Michael Sahn, who knows just how to do it.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Win-win: Climate action is not only necessary, it’s rich with economic opportunity. Deloitte on the numbers.
Personality disorder: Big Candy has given the M&M characters an attitude adjustment. Vox on the couch.
Timing is everything: When, precisely, should you reveal your latest and greatest innovation? Fast Co. on the clock.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Green Project Technologies, a New York City-based provider of an ESG data-management and reporting platform for SMEs, raised $1.8 million in seed funding led by Blue Collective, with participation from Centre Lane Partners.
+ Aigen, a Washington State-based scalable, solar-powered robotics platform for agriculture and soil regeneration, raised $4 million in funding led by NEA, with participation from AgFunder, Global Founders Capital and ReGen Ventures.
+ Mentor Collective, a Massachusetts-based provider of scalable, structured mentorship programs, raised $21 million in Series A funding led by Resolve Growth Partners with participation from Lumina Foundation.
+ Anitian, an Oregon-based provider of pre-engineered cloud security and compliance automation solutions, raised $55 million in Series B funding led by Sageview Capital, with participation from Forgepoint Capital.
+ Atom Computing, a California-based quantum-computing innovator, closed a $60 million Series B funding round led by Third Point Ventures, with participation from Primer Movers Lab, Innovation Endeavors, Venrock and Prelude Ventures.
+ RocaNews, a Washington-based online news platform leveraging AI and Web3 technology, raised $4.4 million in seed funding led by Ori Allon.
BELOW THE FOLD
Garfield: Liar, liar.
Stock sense: With the S&P 500 tumbling, good advice from three market gurus.
Spider sense: How Andrew Garfield kept his big secret limited to three family members.
Common sense: Science can improve your life in just three easy steps.
Makes sense: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where three pillars – scholarship, research and student engagement – set the tone. Check them out.
