Time’s up: Welcome, friends, to the end – the fifth Wednesday of August and final day of summer’s penultimate month.
Yes, it’s Aug. 31 out there, a virtual last gasp for the Summer of 2022 – and on that note, this gentle reminder for most Long Island youngsters: It’s a school night.
Go nuts: And be sweet about it.
Carb up: To celebrate the end of summer vacation, mix things up – it’s National Trail Mix Day, celebrating the physicality-friendly fuel combining nuts, candies, dried fruits and other crunchy carbohydrates.
Hook up: Today is also National Matchmaker Day, toasting love’s intermediaries.
Now that you’ve found your soulmate, perhaps dinner at a nice outdoor trattoria? A perfect idea for National Eat Outside Day, also going al fresco every Aug. 31.
Look up: Observing current trends on this date in 1842 was President John Tyler, who leveraged input from the day’s top astronomers and authorized construction of the inaugural U.S. Naval Observatory.
The Washington-based station – which relocated from its original Foggy Bottom home to Georgetown Heights in 1893 to escape light pollution – is still a critical center of geopositioning and timekeeping sciences.
Power up: The cork-centered baseball (soon to replace the hard rubber-cored baseball) was patented on Aug. 31, 1909, by the A.J. Reach Co. – great news for Major League hitters.
Solar roller: William Cobb’s “Sunmobile” (and William Cobb’s hand).
Sun up: Decades ahead of its time, the world’s first solar-powered car – a remote-controlled, 15-inch model known as the “Sunmobile” – was demonstrated 67 years ago today by GM engineer William Cobb at the 1955 General Motors Powerama auto show.
Speak up: Intending to work with other countries on an international array of satellite-based telecom networks, President John F. Kennedy signed the Communications Satellite Act into law on this date in 1962.
Split up: And it was Aug. 31, 1968, when pioneering Houston surgeon Michael DeBakey led the world’s first multi-organ transplant, with one donor prolonging the lives of four recipients.
The functional heart of a 20-year-old female gunshot victim – as well as both of her kidneys and part of one lung – were transplanted into four waiting patients, all men between the ages of 22 and 50.
Blow up: American forensic scientist Robert Borkenstein (1912-2002) – an Indiana State Police captain known best as the inventor of the blow-right-here Breathalyzer blood-alcohol test – would be 110 years old today.
History of violins: Itzhak knows bows.
Also born on Aug. 31 were French physicist Guillaume Amontons (1663-1705), a big one for thermometry; American physician, scientist, teacher, writer and suffragist Mary Putnam Jacobi (1842-1906), who blazed trails through medicine and women’s rights; British astronomer Robert Hanbury Brown (1916-2002), who turned things up with the intensity interferometer; Northern Irish singer-songwriter Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison (born 1945), a two-time Grammy-winner; and American pop star Deborah Ann Gibson (born 1970), a true 80s sensation.
Tune up: And take a bow/rosin your bow, Itzhak Perlman! The Israeli American violinist, conductor and music instructor – a regular at inaugurations, royal affairs and state dinners on two continents – turns 77 today.
Give the reigning violin virtuoso your very best at editor@innovateli.com, where we propose this string theory: We run with your news tips and calendar events, and everybody wins.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
All the hubbub: Five states and dozens of corporate partners have joined Albany powerbrokers in a vast consortium intent on bringing a lucrative “hydrogen hub” to the Northeast.
Maine and Rhode Island are the latest states to ink the New York-led agreement, which constitutes a comprehensive claim to one of four federally funded hubs designated and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program. Although the Northeast – especially clean energy-friendly New York – would seem a mortal lock for a hydrogen hub, forming the consortium and bolstering its impressive membership “advances each [participating] state’s leadership in clean hydrogen-infrastructure deployment,” according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
The Department of Energy is expected to announce at least four national hubs – and $8 billion in total funding – this fall, supercharging the U.S. hydrogen economy. “With the addition of Maine, Rhode Island and strategic partners representing education, industry, utilities and the nonprofit sector, we have further strengthened an already strong and diverse group of partners,” noted New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen Harris. “Together, we are positioning the region as a leader in clean hydrogen.”
“Guys” and dollars: “Couple of Guys” stars Sal Rendino (left) and Lukas Hassel — and series creator Debra Markowitz — are ready for more.
Quiet on the set: Roll cameras! Old friend Debra Markowitz is ready to produce the fourth episode of “Couple of Guys,” her already-award-winning independent TV series.
The former Nassau County film commissioner – who helped build Nassau into New York State’s second-busiest location for film and television production – has already snagged awards at the 2022 Love Wins International Film Festival (Best LGBTQIA+ Series) and the 2022 Austin Revolution Film Festival (Best Series) with “Couple of Guys,” her biggest project since leaving her film commissioner post in 2021 to focus on Intention Films and Media, her Bellmore-based production house. To date, Markowitz and her creative partner, husband John Marean, have produced three of the limited series’ 10 planned episodes.
Episode Four begins with a Sept. 19 fundraiser at the historic Bellmore Movies and Showplace, where the show’s stars are scheduled to mingle and Markowitz is set to screen the series’ first two episodes (including the “world premiere” of the second installment). Donations supporting production of the independent series – which tracks the tribulations of a gay couple played by Lukas Hassel (“The Black List”) and Sal Rendino (“Billions”) – are also accepted online.
POD PEOPLE
Episode 23: Donna Drake, signals crossed.
Sponsored by Huntington-based marketing master Brandtelling, jam-packed with A-list influencers from across the regional innovation economy, Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast continuously sets new standards for informative and entertaining dialogues. Catch a convo!
TOP OF THE SITE
To shell and back: After a decade of hard science, Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences is celebrating the Shinnecock Bay estuary’s remarkable revival.
Get ’em while they’re hot: You can always review our complete library of engaging, enlightening and entertaining back issues – but nothing beats the convenience of a fresh newsletter in your inbox three times a week.
VOICES
Voices historian (and master networker) Tom Mariner reviews the all-world roster of presidents and directors who’ve led Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory through 132 years of cutting-edge science and groundbreaking discovery.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Dolt: From Thighmaster to Peloton, why we eat up fitness fads. Vox wises up.
Jolt: Automotive science is already rethinking EV battery form and function. Wired revs up.
Revolt: Would a Trump prosecution really spark violence in the streets? Vanity Fair sizes things up.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Olio, an Indiana-based workflow and collaboration healthcare platform, raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Fulcrum Equity Partners and Mutual Capital Partners.
+ Vilya, a Washington State-based biotech focused on disease biology, launched with $50 million in Series A financing led by ARCH Venture Partners.
+ Ordaōs, a New York City-based biotech designing and developing “mini-proteins,” raised $5 million in Seed funding led by VTC Ventures, Route 66 Ventures, Banyan Pacific Capital, IAG Capital Partners and Citta Capital.
+ Aktis Oncology, a Massachusetts-based biotech focused on alpha radiopharmaceuticals, raised $84 million in Series A funding led by Cowen Healthcare Investments, MRL Ventures Fund, ArrowMark Partners, Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis.
+ Vestaron, a North Carolina-based biotech focused on peptide-centered crop protection, raised $10 million in Series C funding led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Ordway Selections, Cavallo Ventures, Argonautic Ventures and Endeavor8.
+ Avenda Health, a California-based AI healthcare company focused on prostate cancer, raised $10 million in Series B funding led by VCapital, Plug & Play Ventures and Wealthing VC Club.
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 Farmingdale State). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (For Your Amusement Edition)
Make a day of it: A spinoff featuring these familiar faces? Sure!
Roller coaster: Six Flags’ new pricing strategy is a wild ride for investors.
Tunnel of love: What happens in the tunnel doesn’t always stay in the tunnel.
Ferris wheel: Thirty-six years later, a Bueller sequel is coming – set on the same “Day Off.”
Great ride: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where students always enjoy an exciting journey toward success. Check them out.
