Middle wait: Welcome to Wednesday, pioneering pugilists, as we stick and move our way through another busy bout of socioeconomic innovation – and, as usual, punch way above our weight, which is easy with you in our corner.
It’s March 23 out there, we’re halfway through this weekly tilt and the latter rounds are in reach. There’s the bell – go for it.
Hot stuff: It’s what’s inside that counts, especially on National Tamale Day.
Happiness is…: There’s cuteness from coast to coast today – March 23 is National Puppy Day, when housetraining and expensive care are no match for big brown eyes and floppy ears.
Happiness is also…: If you’re hungry, take your pick – today is also National Tamale Day and National Chip and Dip Day.
Too spicy? Try National Melba Toast Day, saluting the plain, crunchy wafers named for early 20th Century Australian opera star Helen Mitchell (known best as Dame Nellie Melba and also credited as the namesake of peach Melba, for those keeping score).
First look: Back on Earth, kinda, was the first-ever photograph of the moon, taken 182 years ago today by inventive New York City doctor/shutterbug John Draper.
First up: Also in NYC, master innovator Elisha Otis’ steam-powered commercial elevator debuted on March 23, 1857, carrying passengers inside the shiny new Haughwout Building.
A non-steam elevator installed in 1892 is sometimes confused as the original, but Otis’ invention – ordered as a publicity stunt by landlord E.V. Haughwout – indeed rose first.
A toast: Happy birthday to the trusty Dixie Cup.
First sip: Also rising quickly was the Dixie Cup, invented on this date in 1912.
Originally marketed by Massachusetts lawyer Lawrence Luellen as Health Kups, the water cooler’s best friend adopted its new name – honoring New York’s Dixie Doll Co. – in 1919.
First forecast: The World Meteorological Organization – which encourages international collaboration on weather forecasting, climatology, operational hydrology and related environmental services – was founded on March 23, 1950.
Second seat: And with astronauts Virgil Grissom and John Young aboard, Gemini III – America’s first two-man spaceflight – blasted off from Cape Canaveral on this date in 1965.
In theorem: German mathematician Amalie Emmy Noether (1882-1935) – who innovated higher algebra and formulated Noether’s theorem, a fundamental foundation of mathematical physics – would be 140 years old today.
Spent: Bannister left it all on the track to break the four-minute mile.
Also born on March 23 were American sociologist Franklin Giddings (1855-1931), one of the “four founders of American sociology”; Japanese director and screenwriter Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), an unparalleled auteur; German American aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun (1912-1977), the Nazi-turned-NASA rocket man; Hollywood icon Lucille Fay LeSueur (1904-1977), who explored the highs and lows as the legendary Joan Crawford; and English neurologist Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (1929-2018), the first runner to break the four-minute mile.
Going the wrong way: But take a bow anyway, Princess Eugenie of York! The daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York – who was sixth in line for the British throne when she was born, but has since dropped to 12th – turns 32 today.
Wish the royal well at editor@innovateli.com, where we do the bowing and curtseying, especially when you share news tips and calendar events (or if you’re a princess or duke or something).
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Provost with the most: An Adelphi University provost has earned a rare honor – and opportunity – reserved for top academic administrators.
Diann Cameron-Kelly, the university’s associate provost for student success, has been named an American Council on Education Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year, following her nomination by Adelphi senior administrators and a rigorous application process. Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program – which welcomed 46 new fellows in its 2022-23 cohort – is designed to strengthen U.S. higher education leadership by preparing faculty and staff for senior administrative positions through an “intensive mentorship model.”
Kelly – former interim dean of Adelphi’s School of Social Work and the only Long Island-based administrator included in the 2022-23 cohort – joins 2,000-plus collegiate vice presidents, deans and faculty members who’ve participated in the ACE Fellows Program since its 1965 launch. “I am honored to … represent Adelphi University as an emerging leader in higher education,” the associate provost said Tuesday. “I hope to learn critical principles that will help me address the equity gap among our underrepresented students.”
The short way: The world’s new longest suspension bridge provides a quick connection between Europe and Asia.
Başarın için tebrikler! This just in from our Innovate Gallipoli bureau, where the 1915Çanakkale Bridge – officially, the world’s longest suspension bridge – has opened a healthy 18 months ahead of schedule.
The 1915Çanakkale Bridge and Motorway, which ceremoniously opened March 18, carries motorists over the Dardanelles Strait, facilitating passage between the continents of Asia and Europe in a brisk six minutes (without leaving transcontinental Turkey). The bridge – named for World War I’s bloody Battle of Çanakkale, which pit Allied forces against the Ottoman army – connects the Town of Gelibolu (a.k.a. Gallipoli) on the European side with the Lapseki District on the Asian side.
The 4,608-meter (roughly 2.9-mile) bridge – constructed in a timely manner by Çanakkale Motorway Bridge Construction Investment Operation, a Turkish-Korean joint venture – sets a new record for the world’s longest mid-span suspension bridge (displacing Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, a mere 3,911 total meters). It also promotes “faster and more cost-effective freight transport, as well as strengthened economic, political, tourism and social bonds for the region,” according to the construction partners.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 19: Timothy Sams, trial by COVID at SUNY Old Westbury.
They’re smart, they’re funny and they represent the full spectrum of regional socioeconomics, from the bristling corridors of power to the hallowed halls of education to the most ingenious government laboratories and homemade workshops.
Learn from the best on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, where Season 2 – sponsored by clean-energy pioneer ThermoLift – sets new standards for engaging and informative dialogue. Big names, big ideas, 30-minute chunks.
TOP OF THE SITE
All fungible and games: Cryptocurrency, vaccinations and the dreaded dark web were among the touchstone topics in play at Stony Brook University’s Hack@CEWIT 2022.
Remembering Lee: Richard Murdocco, founder of real estate resource The Foggiest Idea, laments the passing of unrivaled Long Island land-use champion Lee Koppelman.
Do the right thing: Make sure you thank the thoughtful innovator who forwarded you this engaging newsletter– then show you mean it with your own easy and free subscription.
VOICES
Stony Brook University business-builder David Hamilton, head honcho of the university’s clean-energy commercialization programs, has added the food-focused Business Incubator at Calverton to his list of responsibilities – and joined our megawatt Voices rotation as the new Food and Beverage anchor, starting with this tasty intro to the world of early-stage edible enterprises.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Tough to swallow: The Ukraine war is sure to spike global food prices. Reuters adds it up.
Red alert: The White House is warning of impending Russian cyberattacks. Politico raises the shields.
Glad you asked: Which comes first, personal happiness or professional success? Fast Co. reveals the answer.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Cambium Carbon, a Washington-based tech firm focused on local wood-industry supply chains, raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation by Soma Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Blue Ivy Ventures and others.
+ Nautilus Labs, a New York City-based maritime-tech company, raised $34 million in Series B funding led by M12 and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.
+ Aptatek BioSciences, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of in-home health-monitoring solutions, raised $4 million in seed funding led by IP Group, Canterbury Scientific Limited and the National PKU Alliance.
+ Iunu, a Washington State-based controlled-environment ag-tech, raised $24 million in Series B funding led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood, S2G Ventures, Ceres Partners and Astanor Ventures.
+ Heirloom, a California-based tech firm focused on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, raised $53 million in Series A funding co-led by Carbon Direct Capital Management, Ahren Innovation Capital and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with participation from the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.
+ Apollo Neuro, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of wearable tech designed to improve stress resilience, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by the Noetic Fund.
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 SUNY Old Westbury). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD
Automatic: You should never have to hunt down coffee.
Take it easy: How to deal with your coworkers’ most annoying habits.
Easy button: American governors are abusing the National Guard.
Easy does it: Feeling stressed? Time to automate some everyday duties.
Easy decision: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including SUNY Old Westbury, a great choice for students seeking a small-college atmosphere and a big-time education. Check them out.
