The beginning of the end: That’s a little dark … but it is Friday, dear readers, both the end of this sultry workweek and the beginning of another well-earned weekend, so let’s roll with it.
Holiday road: It’s July 22 out there, and before we dive into your weekly innovation recap, this quick scheduling note – Innovate Long Island is reorganizing the warehouse, polishing the showroom and rebooting the system over the first week of August, so no newsletters Aug. 3, 5 or 8.
Leisure time: ‘Tis the season.
Watch for your regular supply of awesomesauce next week (and your essential Aug. 1 Calendar Newsletter). We’ll return after our short summer hiatus with exciting new content and your regularly scheduled Aug. 10 newsletter.
And with that … ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the immortal Lindsey Buckingham!
You think you’re so hot: On the topic of steamy summers, wipe your sweaty brow and be glad you weren’t in upstate Troy on this date in 1926, when New York State set its all-time high-temperature mark of 109 degrees Fahrenheit.
Despite the ongoing (and relatively modest) heatwave of 2022, we’re encouraged to get outside today – July 22 is both National Summer Leisure Day, when outdoor activities are in play, and National Hammock Day, suggesting a relaxing (preferably shaded) swing.
Raising capital: Speaking of upstate history, happy anniversary to the City of Albany! The then-future state capital was originally chartered on July 22, 1686.
And speaking of big-city beginnings, happy birthday also to Cleveland, Ohio, which was established by namesake Moses Cleveland – at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River – on July 22, 1796.
Round: It’s a big date for round-the-world aviation milestones. First up – adventurous aviator Wiley Post, the C.W. Post College namesake who completed the first round-the-world solo flight (from and to Brooklyn) 89 years ago today.
Pitstop: The Dick Smith 1983 World Tour takes a quick break.
And round: Next we take a spin with chopper topper Dick Smith, who completed the first round-the-world helicopter flight (from and to Texas) on this date in 1983.
And round again: We land safely with then-11-year-old Tony Aliengana, who became the youngest pilot to fly around the world (from and to California) on July 22, 1989.
Big impact: And more crashing than landing were the last fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which smashed into the gas giant Jupiter on this date in 1994.
While the historic collision provided volumes of scientific data about comet courses and related phenomena, it had an even bigger impact on Earth, as an early example of how the then-fledgling Internet might become a public resource.
A bona-fide “Colossus”: American author Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) – a vocal Jewish activist whose poetic prose famously defines the Statue of Liberty – would be 173 years old today.
Long answer: Late, great Trebek hosted “Jeopardy!” for 37 years.
Also born on July 22 were American surveyor and politician James Geddes (1763-1838), chief engineer (and champion) of the Erie Canal; German astronomer Friedrich Bessel (1784-1846), the first to take a parallax view; Austrian botanist and geneticist Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), a monk on a mission; American philanthropist and socialite Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (1890-1995), the matriarch behind JFK, RFK, Ted and six more little Kennedys; and Canadian American gameshow host George Alexander “Alex” Trebek (1930-2020), now the namesake of the “Jeopardy!” stage.
Big score: And take a bow, Alan Irwin Menken! The Academy Award-winning American composer – best known for songs and entire film scores written for Walt Disney Animation Studios classics like “Aladdin,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” – turns 73 today.
Salute the songwriter (you know you’re Proud of Your Boy) at editor@innovateli.com, where you’ve never had a Friend Like [Us], since we also accept news tips (Be Our Guest) and calendar events (they’re, like, A Whole New World).
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Organ donors: With demand rising for specialized kidney expertise, a generous endowment from Long Island philanthropists will kickstart Northwell Health’s first-ever nephrology fellowship.
Roslyn residents Linda and Greg Galdi have gifted $1.25 million to the New Hyde Park-based health system, which is now accepting applications for the novel Galdi Fellowship in Onco-Nephrology and Glomerular Kidney Diseases. Administered by Northwell’s Division of Kidney Diseases and Hypertension, the fellowship is slated to begin next summer and focus on the two rapidly advancing subspecialties – both surging in demand, according to Northwell, “as the treatment of kidney disease grows more complex.”
Northwell Health Division of Nephrology Associate Chief Kenar Jhaveri, a professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, hailed the Galdis for facilitating the first-ever combined fellowship in onco-nephrology and glomerular kidney diseases. “The creation of the Galdi Fellowship represents the next milestone along the merging paths of these two closely related fields,” Jhaveri said, adding the endowment will help Northwell recruit young scientists “who hold the promise to shape the evolution of medicine for our community and beyond.”
Now higher-ing: Albany is helping state schools prepare the weed workforce.
You’re harshing our vibe, man: Albany is doling out millions to prepare SUNY and CUNY students for smokin’ (er … successful) cannabis industry careers – but none of that green is coming to Long Island.
The competitive-application funding, sparked by the New York State Department of Labor and the state Office of Cannabis Management, will buzz SUNY’s Schenectady County Community College, Niagara County Community College and Orange County Community College ($1 million apiece) and mellow out CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College (rolling with $2 million). The stipends support new and existing credentialing programs and other courses lighting up cannabis industry employment, with each host institution leading regional community college collaborations.
While none of the awards landed on Long Island, the statewide training program projects more than 5,000 SUNY and CUNY participants – good news for a growing multibillion-dollar industry packing tens of thousands of jobs in its pipe. “This is a win for cannabis employers,” noted State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon, “and a win for workers looking to move into in-demand careers with untapped potential in New York State.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Perimeter check: Bethpage-based ultramarathoner Wai Law will run the entire perimeter of Long Island to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s disease research.
Casting call: Leading academicians, captains of industry, brilliant inventors … the best of Long Island’s best share their unique brilliance on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Season 3 continues next week – catch up now on everything you’ve missed.
ICYMI
A top Long Island product developer has engineered dramatic improvements to an acoustic gunshot-detection system returning to Suffolk County.
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 California: Pleasanton-based enterprise-cloud innovator Workday Inc. accelerates innovation in financing and HR with Workday Extend platform.
From Tennessee: Nashville-based tread titan Bridgestone and Knoxville-based petroleum prince Pilot Co. unite to monitor and service tires on commercial truck fleets.
From New Mexico: Albuquerque-based medical platform DrOwl adds safe and secure medical-document upload feature to latest mobile-app update.
ON THE MOVE
Brian Hattermann
+ Brian Hattermann has been promoted to western Nassau County district manager for Hauppauge-based King Kullen Grocery Co. He most recently served as store manager in Bay Shore.
+ Garden City-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff has hired two associates for its Manhattan office: Marshall Dworkin has joined the Litigation Practice Group and Rohan Maitra has joined the Secured Lending & Finance Practice Group.
+ Patrick O’Shaughnessy has been appointed to the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council’s Board of Directors. He is CEO of Rockville Centre-based Catholic Health Services of Long Island.
+ Melissa Devlin has been hired as director of the Palliative Medicine Program at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson. She was site director of palliative care at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital.
+ Nora Haagenson has been elected president of the Great Neck-based Nassau County Village Officials Association. She is the mayor of the Village of Baxter Estates.
+ James Ricca has been appointed counsel of the Manhattan-based Mortgage Bankers Association of New York. He is a partner and the co-chairman of the Banking and Finance Group at Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana.
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
Your eyes don’t deceive you: But your other senses might.
Mash up: Food-and-beverage brands are collaborating for your attention.
Pop up: Testing your brand without all that costly overhead.
Fed up: Fighting off feedback fatigue.
Up-and-up: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including the New York Institute of Technology, where technological innovations – and your future – are always looking up. Check them out.
