A little forced: Welcome to Wednesday, nerf-herders, as we travel from one end of the galaxy to the other in search of technological breakthroughs and other amazing powers.
It’s May 25 on Earth, and you better believe there’s an energy field out there surrounding us and penetrating us and binding the galaxy together … it’s called innovation.
Glass elevator: Raise you spirits today.
So You Think You’ve Got a Talented American Idol Voice: Before we dive even deeper into today’s fairly obvious theme, we tune up with National Sing Out Day, when all levels of vocal talent are encouraged to let it fly.
May 25 is also National Wine Day. Hope that helps.
A new hope: A bunch of dudes started jotting down ideas in Philadelphia on this date in 1787, outlining what would eventually become the first draft of the United States Constitution.
Jump to lightspeed: Austrian physicist Johann Doppler shared his thoughts on light wavelengths in space – part of what’s now known colloquially as the Doppler Effect – with the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences on May 25, 1842.
That’s no moon: English sci-fi writer, technical writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer and TV host Arthur C. Clarke introduced the idea of using space satellites for global communications – at the time, a novel thought – 77 years ago today.
Force ghost: Though he was assassinated by the time it happened, Kennedy’s sheer will propelled man to the moon.
Rise of Skywalker: It was May 25, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy boldly announced plans to land an American safely on the moon by the end of that decade.
Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo followed, with Kennedy’s promise ultimately kept when the Lunar Module Eagle landed in 1969.
The Force will be with you, always: And it was this date in 1977 when the original blockbuster “Star Wars” – no bloody subtitles, no Roman numerals – opened in U.S. theaters.
An unprecedented masterwork of creative and technical innovation, the culturally peerless franchise continues to break new ground – or retread old ground, depending on your take – 45 years later.
An elegant weapon for a more civilized age: American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) – a transcendentalist master who influenced thought with powerful and compelling prose – would be 219 years old today.
World of Oz: The master puppeteer (right) and his most famous alter ego (besides Miss Piggy).
Also born on May 25 were Albanian writer Naim Frashëri (1846-1900), a journalist and poet considered the pioneer of modern Albanian literature; American evangelist John Mott (1865-1955), a Nobel Peace Prize-winner and longtime YMCA leader; Russian-American aeronautics pioneer Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), who elevated more than just helicopters; American spymaster Robert Ludlum (1927-2001), who was Bourne to write this stuff; and American actor, filmmaker and puppeteer Frank Oz (born 1944) – the unmistakable voice of Jedi Master Yoda, he is.
Frickin’ laser beams: And take a bow, Michael John Meyers! The Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and director – oddly specific when it comes to his evildoing – turns 59 today.
Wish the Emmy Award-winner well at editor@innovateli.com, where our superspy mojo is powered directly by your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: St. Joseph’s University has provided a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. The independent and coeducational university provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual rigor, social responsibility, spiritual depth and service. Through its Brooklyn, Long Island and online campuses, the university offers degrees in 60 majors, special course offerings and certificates and affiliated and pre-professional programs. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Thanks a million (or five): Peconic Bay Medical Center Executive Director Amy Loeb (left) thanks ER boosters Thomas and Mary Jane Poole.
Poole-ing resources: A shiny $5 million gift from magnanimous regional philanthropists will significantly advance expansion plans inside the Peconic Bay Medical Center Emergency Department.
Longtime PBMC supporters Thomas Poole and Mary Jane Poole, well-known boosters of numerous Long Island healthcare and arts organizations, have stepped up in support of a planned 6,600-square-foot expansion of the medical center’s ER. Northwell Health’s Riverhead-based hospital estimates the bill for the build-out – slated to include a new dual-bay trauma unit, a dedicated pediatric-treatment area and additional cardiac-response capabilities – at around $15 million.
Ultimately, the expansion will increase PBMC’s critical-care capacity by more than 75 percent – and the Pooles’ “cornerstone donation” is an enormous step toward bringing it to fruition, according to Peconic Bay Medical Center Executive Director Amy Loeb. “As the needs of our communities grow, our facilities must keep pace,” Loeb said this week. “This expansion is vital to the quality of service we deliver in our Emergency Department.”
App-propriate measures: Hofstra University is challenging future lawyers from coast to coast to change how legal disputes are resolved with better software.
The Hempstead-based university’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law is hosting its first National Legal Innovation Tournament, inviting all second- and third-year law students – and nationwide LLM students, pursuing the equivalent of a legal master’s degree – to design apps that “help change the face of dispute resolution.” Proposals from teams of three to four students will be whittled down to finalist teams, which will work with dispute-resolution experts, seasoned litigators and Hofstra technologists to develop app prototypes, enhance their real-world functionality and improve user protocols.
A $500 prize donated by the New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Division awaits the winning team, to be determined during a virtual one-day Innovation Tournament scheduled for Oct. 7. Registration now underway for students and professional legal experts interested in participating; more information available here.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 5: Produced and directed by Debra Markowitz.
Whom will you learn from today … the brilliant inventor? The esteemed university president? The economic-development legend? How about the successful entrepreneur, or the NBA veteran? These real-world experts and other master innovators share exclusive, valuable lessons on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Change your perspective.
TOP OF THE SITE
Overture, curtains, lights: On with the show, this is it – Nassau’s only professional theater company has taken the state-of-the-art stage in its new Elmont home.
All things being unequal: A new ERASE Racism report calculates stark shortages in student resources available in predominantly minority Long Island school districts.
Thanks, dear readers: Did you see all those new subscribers we welcomed in Monday’s Calendar Newsletter? Couldn’t have done it without your generous distribution of our always easy, always free newsletter subscription link.
VOICES
Even in a world overrun with better digital options, Voices media anchor/ZE Creative Communications Executive Vice President/music lover David Chauvin hits pause for a moment of silence (and reflection) as Apple pulls the plug on its iconic iPod.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Real eel: Two hundred years later, electric eels are still inspiring new battery technologies. The Conversation plugs in.
Private concerns: Elon Musk’s Twitter saga makes a strong case for a “public Internet.” The Verge logs on.
Pressure cooker: As “emotional labor” intensifies, effective leadership takes new forms. Forbes shares all the feels.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Polygon, a California-based learning-differences expert providing remote evaluations and support for dyslexic and ADHD students, raised $3.6 million in seed funding led by Spark Capital.
+ Cayaba Care, a Pennsylvania-based maternity-health startup, closed a $12 million Series A funding round led by Seae Ventures and Kapor Capital, with participation from new investors Wellington Partners, Citi Impact Fund and Rhia Ventures.
+ Inceptor Bio, a North Carolina-based biotech focused on cell therapies, raised $37 million in Series A funding led by Kineticos Ventures.
+ Remix Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech developing small-molecule therapies to reprogram RNA processing, raised $70 million in Series B funding led by Surveyor, Foresite Capital, Atlas Venture, The Column Group, Arch Venture Partners, Alexandria Venture Investments and Casdin Capital.
+ Infinitum Electric, the Texas-based creator of a sustainable air-core motor, raised $80 million in Series D funding led by Riverstone Holdings, with participation from Alliance Resource Partners, Caterpillar Venture Capital and Applied Ventures, among others.
+ Nikola Labs, an Ohio-based reliability-solutions provider focused on eliminating unplanned downtime for global manufacturers, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by G2 Venture Partners and Triangle Peak Partners.
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 St. Joe’s). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Plan Your Summer Vacation Now Edition)
Fit for Queens: Rockaway Beach makes the Summer Vacation 2022 cut.
Unafraid: Travel experts are predicting a big Summer 2022 comeback.
Unplugged: Is tech-free the future of hospitality?
Unpacked: Staycation? Montauk (and Rockaway Beach) cracked a top U.S. travel list.
Unmatched: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including St. Joseph’s University, where a dual focus on academic and spiritual development dates back more than a century. Check them out.
