End run: Welcome to Friday, intrepid innovators, as we wrap up another progressive week (and exciting month) in socioeconomic innovation.
Before we get to our well-earned mid-Spring weekend, just one more workday to sprint through. Let’s finish strong, starting with this end-all, be-all innovation review (well, no … but it is pretty good).
Safe and sound: Take care today and every day, intrepid innovators.
Super safe: It’s April 28 out there, and you couldn’t be in better hands – not only is it the UN’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work (fairly self-explanatory), it’s National Superhero Day, when costumed crusaders of every stripe swoop to the rescue (at least, in our imaginations).
Oldie, goodie: Today also rekindles a relic from the past, when people used to go to centralized offices to work (whaaaaa?!?) – it’s National Cubicle Day, which encouraged worker drones to rise above conformity and brighten their personal spaces.
Other pie-in-the-sky notions associated with this date include National Blueberry Pie Day, a classic favorite always baked fresh on April 28, and best topped with a scoop of Breyers Butter Almond.
Sailing into trouble: Here’s another interesting scoop – known later as a cruel penal colony and infamous “Star Trek” spaceship, Botany Bay was “discovered” on Australia’s southeast coast by British explorer James Cook on this date in 1770.
Dropping into history: Suggesting previous, less-successful attempts, what history records as the “first successful Army test jump with a free-fall parachute” was survived on this date in 1919 by daring soldier Leslie Irvin.
Basic idea: Wave mechanics for dummies.
Waving into existence: In a letter to Albert Einstein dated April 28, 1926, Nobel Prize-winning Austrian Irish physicist Erwin Schrödinger first described “wave mechanics” – a branch of quantum physics observing wavelike qualities in the behavior of elementary particles.
Dancing onto Broadway: Foreshadowing the Great White Way, the first animated electric sign – featuring 2,000 bulbs and depicting a dancing horse – debuted on Broadway 86 years ago today.
Fading into obscurity: And in contrast, never really lighting things up was the Double Coat – literally an overcoat for two, patented on this date in 1953 by Virginia inventor Howard Ross.
The extensible outerwear was designed to function primarily as a normal coat, but folded out to accommodate two “in an emergency,” according to the designer.
List serve: German industrialist and humanitarian Oskar Schindler (1908-1974) – a card-carrying Nazi who, at the height of World War II, risked it all to save more than 1,000 Jews from the atrocities of Auschwitz – would be 115 years old today.
Balancing act: Justice Kagan, in the minority.
Also born on April 28 were British physicist Hertha Marks Ayrton (1854-1923), the first woman nominated for a Royal Society fellowship; Dutch astronomer Jan Oort (1900-1992), a radio-astronomy pioneer whose head was truly in the clouds; Italian industrialist Ferruccio Elio Arturo Lamborghini (1916-1993), a former WWII POW who first built tractors, then hit the gas; Mockingbird-killing, Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist Nelle Harper Lee (1926-2016); and American lawyer Elena Kagan (born 1960), the fourth woman to sit as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Stand-up guy: Not exactly, but take a bow anyway, James Douglas Muir “Jay” Leno! The American television host, comedian, writer, actor and automotive historian – who burned a lot of bridges while bullying his way to “The Tonight Show’s” throne – turns 73 today.
Give Leno your best (or not) at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips are as strong as Conan and we follow your calendar events to the letter, man.
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers Exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement. Our commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares exemplary citizens equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. Long Island’s first public institution of higher education, Farmingdale State is a regional economic cornerstone, with 96 percent of graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. We prepare emerging leaders in the growing technology, engineering, business and healthcare fields. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Rollercoaster of emotions: A favorite Long Island amusement park has joined a leading food bank’s crusade against regional food insecurity.
Farmingdale-based Adventureland, through its Adventureland Helping Hands Foundation, has made a three-year, $255,000 commitment to Island Harvest Food Bank, with several Island Harvest annual collection/distribution programs earning the foundation’s support. Ongoing marketing assistance will help Island Harvest spread the word, while a new college scholarship program will benefit economically disadvantaged students served by the food bank and its partner agencies.
Island Harvest CEO Randi Shubin Dresner said collaborations with landmark local businesses like Adventureland “are essential in helping fund supplemental food support and related social services,” while Adventureland President Steve Gentile said his park was proud to partner with the busy food bank. “We are honored to join the Island Harvest Family in addressing hunger and food insecurity in our local communities,” Gentile noted. “It is the support we receive from our fellow Long Islanders that enables Adventureland … to support Island Harvest in the fight against hunger.”
Unique fixer-upper opportunity: Hallockville’s historic Naugles Barn is getting a facelift.
Tractor pull: An historical farm museum and other Long Island cultural efforts have shown some pull with the New York State Council on the Arts.
Hallockville Museum Farm is among 144 statewide cultural efforts sharing $42 million in new NYSCA funding earmarked for small and medium capital projects at arts and cultural organizations. The jewel of Riverhead’s circa-1765 Hallock homestead – rescued from energy-industry development in the 1970s by grassroots chutzpah, thriving as a community resource today – will use its $500,000 stipend to stabilize and renovate its Naugles Barn, creating “a community-centric location for ongoing classes, camps and events,” according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
Other NYSCA awards include $1.47 million for laboratory restorations at Shoreham’s Tesla Science Center, $50,000 for a new roof at the Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor and $50,000 for a new projection system at Port Washington’s Landmark on Main Street performing arts center. “Strengthening our creative sector increases tourism, boosts our economy and enhances the rich heritage and cultural life of New York State,” Hochul said Tuesday.
TOP OF THE SITE
Eastern philosophy: The LIA is reaching out to East End businesses with a new membership committee and a comprehensive B2B networking program.
Pumped up: Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital has quickly completed its 100th heart-transplant operation.
Like the sound of this: Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast features dozens of informative and entertaining conversations with the leaders of the Long Island innovation economy. Meet someone new, learn something new.
ICYMI
Big score in LI’s offshore wind industry, big honor for Stony Brook climate scientists.
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 Texas: Austin-based small-biz solutions spearhead GFI Software builds real-time traffic monitoring, interactive analytics and more into innovative GFI ClearView suite.
From Arizona: Phoenix-based direct-to-consumer mattress magnate Helix Sleep ups its comfort and support game with luxurious Helix Elite collection.
From Brooklyn: Borough-based pet-lifestyle leader Füzi Pets raises the curtain on flagship line of chic, elevated modular pet beds.
ON THE MOVE
William Lynch III
+ William Lynch III has joined the Melville-based McBride Consulting and Business Development Group as vice president and managing director of its New York City office. He was previously employed by Bill Lynch & Associates.
+ Chris Maio has joined Farmingdale State College as chief communications officer. She was head of communications and marketing for Stony Brook University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
+ Anthony Varbero and David Casagrande have joined Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana as partners and co-chairmen in the new Securities Litigation & Regulation Practice Group. Both attorneys worked previously for Brooklyn-based Joseph Mure Jr. & Associates.
+ Kelly Mackey has joined Ronkonkoma-based Sasserath & Co. as administrative assistant.
+ Michael Antongiovanni has been appointed to the New York State Bar Association’s House of Delegates’ decision- and policy-making body. He is a shareholder practicing in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group at Garden City-based Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein.
+ Timothy Fallon has been named a partner at Syosset-based Simonetti & Associates. His focus is on family and matrimonial law.
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 (What’s Old Is New Edition)
Re-dodo: Is reviving a species that symbolizes extinction really a good idea?
Branch dynamics: Earth’s oldest tree has been growing for more than 5,000 years.
Metropolis necropolis: Researchers have unearthed an ancient burial site in Paris.
Mammoth mess: The road to de-extinction is filled with ethical challenges.
Never gets old: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, which has been turning out top graduates – and exemplary citizens – since 1912. Check them out.
