Summer’s swan song: Wednesday already, dear readers! This last full workweek of the Summer of 2022 is flying by, with the weekend – and next week’s autumnal equinox – already on the horizon.
It’s Sept. 14 out there, and we’re helping you over the hump with a little innovation push – it’s all downhill from here!
Need a hero: Or a sub, or a po’boy, or a torpedo, or a…
Slammed: You’re busy, we get it – but you’ll want to make time for BrandSlam, our unique, exciting and free “marketing-improv” event coming Oct. 6 to LaunchPad Huntington.
Cosponsored by Stony Brook University Economic Development and the big brains over at Huntington-based brand-building boutique Brandtelling, our one-night-only stage show combines eager entrepreneurs and clever communicators for a fast-paced evening of slogan creation and elevator-pitch perfection (plus adult beverages).
It’s like poetry slam had a baby with a marketing masterclass – and you’re invited! Seats are limited, but we can still get you in.
Fast food: Back here on Sept. 14, we’ll make it quick – it’s National Eat a Hoagie Day, so grab your hoagie (or hero, or grinder, or whatever) and let’s boogie.
Follow the light: Leading the way is Boston Lighthouse, hailed as North America’s first lighthouse and lit for the first time on this date in 1716.
For those keeping score, the original tower on Little Brewster Island was destroyed by the British Army in 1776 and replaced seven years later by the 75-foot tower that remains standing today.
By the dawn’s early light: Speaking of Brits blowing things up real good, little-known poet Francis Scott Key penned “The Defence of Fort M’Henry” – later edited, set to music and renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner” – on Sept. 14, 1814, as the Redcoats pounded the Maryland stronghold.
Man style: The famous Tourist Trophy.
Blue ribbon (for a black ribbon): Life changed in an ink on this date in 1886, when Tennessee inventor George Kerr Anderson patented the typewriter ribbon.
Running Man: The Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy – which stakes a claim as the world’s oldest car race that’s still run – first circled the track on Britain’s Isle of Man on Sept. 14, 1905.
Take a little spin: And whirlybird pioneer Igor Sikorsky took the first practical helicopter on its first successful test flight 83 years ago today in Connecticut.
The first flying machine to feature a single main rotor and single tail rotor, the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 was tethered to the ground for the entire 10-second flight.
Part of the plan: American nurse, sex educator, writer and birth-control advocate Margaret Higgins Sanger (1879-1966) – the mother of Planned Parenthood – would be 143 years old today.
Also born on Sept. 14 were Russian electrical engineer Pavel Yablochkov (1847-1894), who lit the Yablochkov candle; British physicist and electrical engineer William Ayrton (1847-1908), who introduced technological education to India and Japan; Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a Nobel Prize winner known best for his dog; American educator and physicist Karl Compton (1887-1966), who thought up radar systems and new missiles for the National Defense Research Committee; and American musician Jon Bauman (born 1947), always Sha Na Na’s greasy and unforgettable “Bowzer.”
Poor Pavel: From the Agony Booth to alien mind-control ear-worms, it always seems to happen to Chekov
Take the helm: And take a bow, Walter Marvin Koenig! The American actor, screenwriter and acting coach – who did all right after hitting it big as Ensign Pavel Chekov on the original “Star Trek” – turns 86 today.
Beam your best to one of the last surviving members of the original U.S.S. Enterprise bridge crew at editor@innovateli.com, where our five-year mission (seven, actually, and counting) always phases in your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 750 outpatient facilities and 70,000-plus employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institutes and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra/Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Visit Northwell.edu.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Small steps: A successful college-to-high school mini-awards program designed to encourage youngsters toward science and math is doubling down on girls in STEM.
The New York Institute of Technology’s Mini-Research Grant Award program is expanding thanks to funding from the American Association of University Women. The MRGA program – which awarded individual $300 research grants to 30 projects in 20 Greater New York high schools last year – will supersize its existing pipeline for students to pursue higher education (and eventually employment) in science, technology, engineering and math, with special attention on attracting girls to these traditionally male-dominated fields.
In addition to the quick-hit research grants, the freshly expanded program – which has received commitments from Brentwood High School, Uniondale High School and Harlem Village Academies – includes tours of New York Tech’s New York City and Old Westbury campuses and interactions with undergraduate STEM students. “We are optimistic about welcoming more girls into the program, thanks to our high school partners and our generous funders,” said Niharika Nath, New York Tech professor of biological and chemical sciences and founder of the MRGA program.
Pick a card: Or even better, don’t … New Yorkers are drowning in credit card debt.
With interest: Drop that platinum card, New Yorker – you’re running up a massive debt!
That’s the word from Washington-based personal finance platform WalletHub, which counts billions of dollars in fresh, inflation-flavored national credit card debt – and ranks New York as the fourth-worst state for compiling new debt during the second quarter of 2022. Only average households in Texas ($593 in additional Q2 debt), California ($581) and Florida ($581) ranked worse than New York ($561), contributing mightily to what WalletHub computes as $67.1 billion in new U.S. credit card debt amassed between April and June.
The average New York household now owes $8,214 to Mastercard et al, with WalletHub blaming much of the new balance on Federal Reserve rate hikes designed to control inflation (with more hikes likely coming soon). “Credit card debt levels are rising at a record pace in large part due to the combination of high inflation, pent-up demand and consumers settling back into bad habits from before the pandemic,” noted WalletHub analyst Delaney Simchuck. “The latest credit card debt statistics indicate that the average U.S. consumer’s financial situation has the potential to get much worse before getting better.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 21: Kevin Law, Long Island’s man in Albany.
Jam-packed with A-list influencers from across the regional innovation economy, Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast shares the personal success stories of regional socioeconomic leaders in engaging and entertaining 30-minute chunks. New episodes return next week – but there’s already two-and-a-half seasons in the can!
TOP OF THE SITE
Safety on: Several Long Island colleges and law-enforcement agencies will converge on Adelphi University this week for a critical active-shooter summit.
Training day: No firewall or VPN is as important as proper employee training, according to this IT expert, who prioritizes the human element in cyberattack defense.
Subscription description: All this amazing innovation content, three times a week in my marketing/production/legal/communications team’s inboxes … for free? Where do I sign? (Right here!)
VOICES
The average U.S. life-expectancy rate has dropped precariously over the last two years, with COVID, opioids and gun violence among the factors – but a new mental health push may help stem the deadly tide, according to longtime Northwell Health executive and Voices healthcare anchor Terry Lynam.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Be right over: CVS is spending billions to bring back old-timey doctor’s house calls. Vox sets an appointment.
Be there: Hong Kong has emerged as a leading international technology and innovation hub. Forbes pays a visit.
Be the change: An applied biologist will head a new federal agency promoting biomedical innovation. Science Magazine cheers her on.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Forge Biologics, an Ohio-based biotech offering contracted gene-therapy development and manufacturing services, raised $90 million in Series C funding led by Drive Capital and Aisling Capital.
+ Lumafield, the Massachusetts-based producer of an X-ray CT technology, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by Spark Capital, Lux Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Data Collective and Future Shape.
+ Neurolens, a Texas-based vision-optimization innovator, raised $67 million in funding led by MVM Partners, Falcon Vision/KKR, Marshall Wace and Bluestem Capital.
+ SessionGuardian, a New York City-based identity-access control and authentication platform for hybrid teams, raised $3 million in seed funding led by Phase 2 Investments, Robin Hood Ventures and Ben Franklin Technology Partners.
+ Odyssey Energy Solutions, a Colorado-based cleantech pioneer, raised $5.34 million in funding led by Equal Ventures, Twelve Below, Abstract Ventures, Founder Collective and MCJ Collective.
+ Chargezoom, a California-based billing and integrated-payment platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Panoramic Ventures, with participation from SaaS Venture Capital, Stout Street Capital and Okapi Venture Capital.
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 Northwell Health). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Word Up Edition)
Matter over mind: Meta knows what you’re thinking.
That’s unsettling: Science determines the trigger words real estate investors like least.
That’s not sponcon: But sponcon is one of 370 new words debuting this month in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
That’s not scary at all: Meta’s AI Research Division can detect and decipher the words in your mind – by decoding your brainwaves.
That’s comforting: Please continue supporting the amazing organizations that support Innovate Long Island, including Northwell Health, where 70,000-plus top professionals are exploring innovative ways to make us all feel better. Check them out.
