Ad nauseum: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, intrepid innovator – you’ve conquered another workweek and queued up another weekend, and we don’t know how you do it, but it never fails to impress.
It’s Friday out there, Feb. 11 to be precise, and if you or your startup company are considering a marketing splash, there’s still time to snag 30 seconds of commercial airtime during Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI – just $6.5 million this year.
A latte to be thankful for: May your cup always be half-full.
Make something up: Today brings one of Innovate Long Island’s favorite observances – National Inventors Day, when deep thinkers and creative tinkerers enjoy center stage. (Why Feb. 11? You’ll see.)
Speaking of brainy pursuits, today is also the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which honors past achievements and promotes future breakthroughs.
Espresso yourself: There’s no better time than National Latte Day, celebrated this and every Feb. 11.
And if your steamed milk doesn’t quite make it into your double espresso, just let it go – it’s also National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day.
Transparent gesture: There wasn’t a latte in sight when the fledgling United States Senate opened its doors to the public for the first time on this date in 1794, considering the fate of a Pennsylvania senator – who may or may not have been a U.S. citizen – in front of a live audience.
Old school: With William Penn standing guard, 270-year-old Pennsylvania Hospital is now a teaching hospital
To your health: America’s very first hospital – Pennsylvania Hospital, still standing today as part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System – opened on Feb. 11, 1752, in Philadelphia.
Full steam ahead: Master innovator Robert Fulton patented his famous steamboat 213 years ago today.
For those keeping score, Fulton didn’t actually invent steamboats, which originated in 1770s France, but was the first to successfully commercialize them.
Take a seat: Also improving existing technologies on this date were American cousins Ed Shoemaker and Edward Knabusch, who invented the La-Z-Boy reclining chair on Feb. 11, 1928.
Welcome to the club: And Japan became the world’s fourth space power – after the Soviet Union (1957), the United States (1958) and France (1965) – on this date in 1970, successfully launching a satellite into Earth orbit from the Kagoshima Space Center.
Japanese scientists lost radio contact with satellite Ohsumi just 14 hours after launch, but the probe orbited Earth until 2003, when it finally reentered the atmosphere and burned up.
Nobody beats the Wiz: National Inventors Day inspiration Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1932) – the wonderful Wizard of Menlo Park, who racked up an astonishing 1,093 patents over his amazing lifetime – would be 175 years old today.
Nielsen rating: Leslie (right), with Priscilla Presley in “Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear.”
Also born on Feb. 11 were American mathematician Richard Hamming (1915-1998), whose Hamming code was one of several major computer-engineering contributions; American sexologist Virginia Johnson (1925-2013), who broke scientific and social barriers; beloved Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010), who played it straight before finding funnyman fame; mustachioed American actor, producer and director Burton “Burt” Reynolds Jr. (1936-2018), a bona fide 20th Century sex symbol; and American singer, songwriter and actress Sheryl Crow (born 1962), who’s redefined “family” while piling up Grammy Awards.
Can’t hardly refudiate it: And take a bow, Sara Louise Palin! The three-year Alaska governor, one-time U.S. Vice-Presidential candidate and gleeful reality TV personality – who’s never let logic, common sense or basic literacy stand in the way of a good sound bite – turns 58 today.
Give the lightning-rod politician your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we love news tips and calendar events – particularly the logical, sensible, literate ones.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Stress test: Employee retention and stress levels have become huge problems for midsized businesses, according to the latest Marcum-Hofstra CEO Survey.
Conducted as part of the Zarb School of Business MBA curriculum, the first Marcum-Hofstra survey of 2022 – which in January queried 257 executives of companies with $5 million to $1 billion in annual revenues – revealed that a worrisome 86 percent of middle-market CEOs are having trouble retaining employees, with more than 43 percent labeling it a “major concern.” Separately, 85.6 percent of respondents noted increased stress levels among employees, while nearly three quarters said they were offering new assistance to alleviate employee stress.
The Hofstra University/Marcum LLP survey circulated five times in 2021; the fifth, released in November, noted serious CEO concerns about inflation and supply-chain disruptions. “Companies in every industry are being severely challenged to retain workers operating under immense personal pressure, while simultaneously having to address the price pressures of inflation,” noted Marcum Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Weiner. “Managing for growth in this environment tests CEOs to the limits of their resources and requires them to stretch for entrepreneurial solutions.”
Pawan Kumar: Constructive cross talk.
Crohn-ing achievement: A multidisciplinary research effort featuring scientists at Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and other prestigious institutions may have opened the door to new and better Crohn’s disease treatments.
Led by Pawan Kumar, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at SBU’s Renaissance School of Medicine, scientists have identified a new role for Interleukin-17A, an immune cell-derived cytokine that can promote selective cell development and limit inflammation around the colon – essentially, offer new potential treatments for a debilitating inflammatory bowel disease that affects some 700,000 people in the United States alone.
A paper highlighting the work – and detailing the potential for future clinical studies – was published this week in Immunity, a peer-reviewed scientific journal aggregating immunology breakthroughs. “We identified a new role for IL-17A in the intestinal inflammatory process,” Kumar noted. “Our data suggest that there is a ‘cross talk’ between immune cells and stem cells.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Broad definition: Farmingdale State College’s Broad Hollow Bioscience Park has made a definitive statement with the addition of a new world-class anchor tenant.
Capital gains: An international capital-investment kingpin has recruited a Woodbury-based wealth manager with more than $1 billion in active assets.
Their lips to your ears: Hear directly from the leaders of the Long Island innovation economy – Spark: The Innovation Long Island Podcast goes one-on-one with the best of the region’s best.
ICYMI
Hot start for Long Island IDAs; cold calling (literally) with Jovia Financial.
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: Big Apple anti-vaping enterprise VapeAway patents new technology designed to reduce harmful vape dependencies.
From California: Los Angeles-based coconut-sweetened cookie queen Maxine’s Heavenly follows super-soft cookie debut with new crunchy creations.
From New York City: Big Apple tech firm Black Buffalo 3D revolutionizes the construction industry with the concrete-ink, production-ready NEXCON 1G printer.
ON THE MOVE
Gayle Gerson
+ Gayle Gerson has joined Garden City-based Jaspan Schlesinger as a partner in the Litigation Practice Group. She was previously a partner at Jericho-based SilvermanAcampora.
+ Jacqueline Morley has joined Riverhead-based Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo as an associate. She previously served as an assistant staff judge advocate with the U.S. Air Force at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
+ Anil Malhotra has been named co-director of the Institute of Behavioral Science at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset. He is director of psychiatry research at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens.
+ Ian White has joined the New York Institute of Technology as registrar. He was previously assistant vice president for academic initiatives and infrastructure at Caldwell University.
+ Stephanie Curtin has been promoted to vice president of operations at New York Cancer and Blood Specialists in Port Jefferson Station. She previously served as regional manager.
+ Casey Murphy has been promoted to associate in the Trusts and Estates Group at East Meadow-based Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman. She previously served as a paralegal.
+ Bryant Gordon has been hired as an associate at Uniondale-based Harris Beach. He was previously an assistant district attorney in the King’s County District Attorney’s office.
+ Uniondale-based Harris Beach has promoted Daniel Strecker and John Anzalone to partner. Both previously served as senior counsels.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask New York Tech). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD
New age: A modern spin for ancient Shinto.
Mind: Modern attention spans are rapidly dwindling. Can we refocus?
Body: The pandemic is having profound effects on our eyes, skin and teeth.
Soul: With the Internet’s help, Japan’s indigenous Shinto religion is going global.
The complete package: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including the New York Institute of Technology, where a well-rounded education is only part of the premier professional-prep platform. Check them out.
