Always impressive: You’ve done it again, dear readers – it’s Friday out there, and you’re this close to wrapping another busy and productive workweek. Well played, as usual.
Before we get to all that front-lawn-mowing, back-deck-power-washing and hockey-playoff-watching, just one more workday to rock – so let’s roll.
Butch on wheels: Carpooling, the last generation.
Going to trial: It’s May 20 out there, and we begin with a heartfelt howdy-do to scientific researchers, patient volunteers and everyone else who makes International Clinical Trials Day possible.
Wheels up (or down): Today is also National Bike to Work Day. If you’re already at work and didn’t know that, sorry.
Please ease the sting liberally via National Quiche Lorraine Day (always May 20) and National Pizza Party Day (always the third Friday in May).
What say you to a piece of beef and mustard? Not sure if he had a Chicago-style deep-dish with olives and onions to celebrate (probably not), but Shakespeare’s “Sonnets” were first published on this date in 1609 in London.
Cleared for history: The Spirit of St. Louis taxis toward the Roosevelt Field runway on May 20, 1927.
That’s the Spirit: Not sure if he hit the Sbarro’s in the Roosevelt Field food court first (probably not), but American aviator Charles Lindbergh took off from the current shopping mecca’s grounds on May 20, 1927, en route to Paris and history.
According to witnesses, the Spirit of St. Louis was so loaded with fuel that it barely cleared the telephone wires at the end of the runway.
IP in spaaaaace: Naval Research scientist Robert Baumann landed the first-ever U.S. patent for an orbital satellite 64 years ago today, giving the federal government rights to his new “vanguard sphere” design.
Speaking of satellites, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter – the first human probe to achieve a stable orbit around our (kinda, sometimes closest) planetary neighbor – blasted off on this date 44 years ago.
Nuclear flash: Now operating on solar power, Baltimore Harbor Lighthouse became the world’s first lighthouse powered by a nuclear reactor on May 20, 1964. (The reactor was removed just two years later, for those keeping score.)
Rise and shine: And back in space, after nearly a month of orbital checks, the Hubble Space Telescope opened its eyes on this date in 1990 and sent home its first photo from space.
Yes, minister: American clergywoman Antoinette Brown Blackwell (1825-1921) – who was denied collegiate certifications she earned, but nonetheless became the first U.S. woman ordained as a minister of a recognized denomination – would be 197 years old today.
Wonderful life: Rising from private to colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Stewart flew 20 combat missions over Germany and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (twice), among other medals.
Also born on May 20 were British-American physician, inventor, painter and amateur architect William Thornton (1759-1828), who was the First Architect of the U.S. Capitol; British aircraft engineer Reginald Mitchell (1895-1937), who designed the Supermarine Spitfire, a WWII workhorse; American screen icon James Maitland “Jimmy” Stewart (1908-1997), a Princeton graduate and accomplished military pilot; American engineer and entrepreneur William Hewlett (1913-2001), who co-founded the Hewlett-Packard Co.; and Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh (born 1940), who owns the world professional career home run record (an unassailable 868 dingers).
Turn back time: And take a bow, Cherilyn Sarkisian! The American singer and actress – known sometimes as the Goddess of Pop, but most commonly as Cher – turns 76 today.
Give Chaz Bono’s mom at heartfelt Shoop, Shoop at editor@innovateli.com, where [We’ve] Got You, Babe, and your news tips and calendar events make us Strong Enough. (Do they? You better Believe it).
About our sponsor: SUNY Old Westbury empowers students to own the future they want. In a small-college atmosphere and as part of the dynamic, diverse student body that today is 5,000 strong, Old Westbury students 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 sets students on a course toward success. Own your future.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Danger zone: Coastal waters around the continent are dangerously under-protected, according to Stony Brook University researcher Eileen Pikitch.
Mind the gaps: A new scientific study finds enormous gaps in U.S. coastal conservation, with the Mid-Atlantic region basically “a gaping hole of unprotected waters.”
That’s the word from Ellen Pikitch, the Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, one of 31 researchers contributing to “A Scientific Synthesis of Marine Protected Areas in the United States: Status and Recommendations.” Published this month by the peer-reviewed scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Science, the paper analyzes Marine Protected Areas – parks, coastlines and other areas enjoying conservation-minded protections – and reveals that most U.S. coastal waters are “significantly unprotected,” including a “vast majority of the Mid-Atlantic coast.”
The study calculates that barely 2 percent of U.S. waters outside the Central Pacific region benefit from conservation protections – both negligent and dangerous, according to Pikitch, who also leads SoMAS’ Institute for Ocean Conservation Science. “A lot of work needs to be done, and quickly, to significantly expand marine protection in vast areas of U.S. waters that have been largely neglected,” Pikitch said. “Of particular concern is that only 0.3 percent of the Mid-Atlantic region is conserved, and the strength of that protection is very weak.”
First-timers: Long Island’s myriad medical schools have advanced their annual crops of fresh healthcare providers – including one school graduating its first-ever class.
The NYU Long Island School of Medicine – which opened in Mineola three years ago as the nation’s first accelerated medical program focused exclusively on training primary-care physicians – celebrated its first graduates on Tuesday. The school, also among the nation’s first tuition-free medical schools, honored a 20-member Class of 2022 specially trained in four primary-care areas: family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN.
After residencies at Johns Hopkins Medicine, NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island and other prestigious institutions, the new grads will provide much-needed frontline healthcare reinforcements, with the Association of American Medical Colleges predicting a dramatic shortage of U.S. primary-care physicians over the next decade. “[The Class of 2022] is the realization of a bold vision to make medical school financially attainable and attract exceptional students into the field of primary care,” NYU Langone Health CEO Robert Grossman said in a statement. “We hope that many of the graduating physicians will choose to practice on Long Island, keeping our communities healthy and helping NYU Langone Health expand upon our network of quality physicians.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Shared load: Seven busy Long Island social-service agencies have united under the umbrella of a startup Master Service Organization.
Buyer beware: The current residential real estate market is like a wild roller coaster – but this New York Tech professor can help emotional buyers keep their wits.
Listen up, class: The leaders of Long Island’s innovation economy teach exclusive life lessons on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, 30 entertaining minutes at a time – and it’s tuition-free!.
ICYMI
Bigger Island Harvest will keep food lines moving; bigger global droughts will keep human populations moving.
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 Wyoming: Sheridan-based hemp hyper Lifestyle Wellness Labs expands on dopamine/serotonin research with natural cannabinoid supplement for opioid recovery.
From Georgia: Atlanta-based private-education pioneer Primrose Schools powers up summertime robotics curriculum full of STEM learning and charitable giving.
From New York City: Brooklyn-based betterment bureau We Ascend Now launches “decentralized social community” promoting socioeconomic growth through truth and unity.
ON THE MOVE
Patrick Lloyd
+ Patrick Lloyd has been appointed dean of Stony Brook University’s School of Dental Medicine. He was previously dean of Ohio State University’s College of Dentistry.
+ Eric Wiggins has been promoted to chief executive officer at Melville-based Didit. He previously served as senior vice president of business development.
+ Paul Vetrano has been named to the Maryland-based UMPS CARE Charities’ Board of Directors. He is a global sales executive at Deloitte in Jericho.
+ William Claxton has joined Hauppauge-based Austin Williams as a paid search strategist. He was previously an assistant media planner at Connecticut-based Touchpoint Integrated Communications.
+ Theresa Dillman has been promoted to chief nursing officer and associate executive director of patient care services at Glen Cove Hospital. She was previously senior administrative director at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.
+ Beth Ann Balalaos has been elected to the Troy-based Museum Association of New York’s Board of Directors. She is the access and inclusion manager for the Long Island Children’s Museum in Garden City.
+ Cody-Marie Miller has been named conservation and stewardship manager of Shelter Island’s Mashomack Preserve by the Nature Conservancy. She was previously a land-conservation coordinator for a Central Florida Nature Conservancy chapter.
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
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: The Princeton professor searches for intellectual sophistication in the savagery.
Only in America: The Buffalo massacre reconfirms the nation’s deep-seated racism, once again.
Only in New York: The Port Authority grounds the $27 LaGuardia Airport beer.
Only in Taiwan: Pizza Hut breaks time and space with the chicken, Oreo and squid pie.
Only on Long Island: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including SUNY Old Westbury, one of several SUNY schools making the Island a mecca of higher education. Check them out.
