Friggin’ superstitions: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and not just any Friday but Friday the 13th – the second (and last, obviously) of 2024.
Hey, we’re not going to let a little friggatriskaidekaphobia (the fear of Friday the 13th, a.k.a. araskavedekatriaphobia) scare us – not with another workweek knocked down, another well-earned weekend queued up and the holiday season in full swing. No, we’re fearlessly plowing ahead (after we review the week in innovation, of course).
Cuckoo for cocoa cups: Warm yourself right on National Cocoa Day.
Holiday road: Before we do that, this dispatch from Innovation High Command – Innovate Long Island is planning a short break to trim, toast, wrap, unwrap, feast and otherwise get our merry on. Please watch for your regularly scheduled newsletters on Dec. 16, 18 and 20, and then enjoy the holidays with family and friends … we’ll return Jan. 6 for a New Year of innovative awesomeness. More reminders next week.
Hi, horse: Back here on Dec. 13, we’re riding high on the saddle with National Horse Day, recognizing the economic and cultural contributions that equines have made throughout history.
We’re also running hot and cold with two contrary but equally delightful sweet tooth temptations: National Cocoa Day, mugging it up with your favorite hot chocolate concoction, and National Ice Cream Day, a so-nice-they-run-it-twice event also celebrated on the third Sunday of July. (More ice cream innovation below.)
On guard: Also saddling up today is the National Guard of the United States, which officially formed on Dec. 13, 1636, as an organized militia in the Massachusetts Colony.
Cone head: Also finishing on top was Italo Marchioni, an Italian immigrant and New York City gelato merchant who changed frozen-treat consumption forever when he patented the ice cream cone on this date in 1903.
Signals from spaaaaace: Also going global was NASA’s Relay 1 communications satellite, which was launched 62 years ago today and – after overcoming some technical difficulties – became the first Earth orbiter to transmit television and facsimile signals.
What the bleep: Speaking of television signals, the network time delay became a thing on this date in 1975, when potty-mouthed comedian Richard Pryor hosted “Saturday Night Live.” (For those keeping score, the NBC Television Network instituted the 7-second delay without informing Pryor, well known for his notorious, often hilarious vulgarity.)
Annan among men: Kofi was the first Black man, but not the first African, to serve as UN secretary-general.
How do you take your Kofi? And it was Dec. 13, 1997, when Kofi Annan of Ghana became the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations – and the first Black man appointed to the post.
Annan, also the first member of the UN staff to rise to the top spot, was not the first African selected to lead the global council: That honor went to his immediate predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, who was also the first Arab to serve as secretary-general.
Sarge and in charge: American Army soldier Alvin Cullum York (1887-1964) – a conscientious objector-turned-bona fide national hero whose WWI exploits earned him a Medal of Honor and (as portrayed in an eponymous biopic by Gary Cooper) supercharged U.S. morale during WWII – would be 137 years old today.
Swift rise: The pop-music mistress has become a top financial force.
Also born on Dec. 13 were German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist Ernst Werner von Siemens (1816-1892), a major contributor to the modern electric industry; American First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882), who lived a hard life after her husband’s infamous assassination; American manufacturer John Henry Patterson (1844-1922), who gave retail an innovative (and aggressive) edge with the National Cash Register Co.; American actor, comedian, writer, singer and dancer Richard Wayne “Dick” Van Dyke (born 1925), still Chitty Chitty Bang-Banging away (despite a close shave with this week’s dangerous Malibu wildfires); and American professional wrestler and college football player Sylvester Ritter (1952-1998), the beloved “Junkyard Dog” of pro-wrestling fame.
End of an Eras: And take a bow, Taylor Alison Swift! The unparalleled American singer-songwriter – who this week wrapped up the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, the $2 billion-plus Eras Tour – turns 35 today.
How much did T Swizzle really make during her nearly two-year global trek? We don’t actually know – though some reports say she paid tour workers nearly $200 million in bonuses, if that helps. (For the record, the only bonuses we’re after are your news tips and calendar events, always gratefully accepted at editor@innovateli.com.)
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College is the largest college of applied science and technology in the State University of New York system, with nearly 10,000 students and 46 degree programs focused on relevant, high-demand careers. More than half of our students graduate debt-free and 82 percent are employed six months after graduation or enrolled in graduate school. Nearly 80 percent of FSC graduates stay and are working on Long Island six months after graduation. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Energizing future scientists: A chunky National Science Foundation grant will help an Adelphi University professor attract future scientists to the Garden City-based institution – and, as a sort of bonus, dissect the origins of life on Earth.
Professor of Chemistry Brian Stockman will leverage a multiyear $311,035 NSF grant in an exploration of how terrestrial life likely originated. The Prebiotic Origins of Biological Energy project will focus (obviously) on energy, which is released by electrons moving between more- and less-excited states – and, when excited, can create tiny chains of amino acids called peptides, which can evolve into the more complex molecules necessary for life (as we know it).
While helping to crack the mystery of life’s Earthly origins, the work will unite Adelphi University researchers with summer researchers from regional high schools – and could go a long way toward helping NASA identify signs of emerging life in our Solar System and beyond. “I wanted a diverse group of thinkers,” Stockman noted. “We’re trying to use this to matriculate students from underrepresented communities interested in STEM into Adelphi.”
Giving them a lift: How to drive a forklift is just one of the skills on the curriculum at the Workforce Skills Development Institute.
Energizing the workforce: Island Harvest Food Bank has graduated the sixth class of learners from its progressive Workforce Skills Development Institute.
The innovative training initiative is designed to give the unemployed, underemployed and under-skilled the necessary tools to compete in the modern job market, specifically in the areas of warehousing and inventory control. Fifty-seven total learners have now graduated the program since it welcomed its first student cohort in January 2023, completing an innovative curriculum that includes certifications in technical warehousing and “soft skills that support workplace success,” according to Island Harvest.
Working closely with program funders – including Bank of America, Verizon, the Suffolk County Department of Labor, the 501(c)3 Workforce Development Institute and various Long Island municipalities – the Melville-based food bank is “helping to break the bonds of people shackled by economic uncertainty,” according to Island Harvest President and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner. “Giving food to help people who are food insecure is vital but represents a short-term solution to the public-health crisis of hunger in America,” she added. “(We are) taking more holistic approaches in addressing the root causes of hunger and food insecurity.”
TOP OF THE SITE
See, plus: A next-generation 4K visualization system is giving Northwell Health surgeons unprecedented internal views during risky spinal surgeries.
When podcasts collide: “Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast” returns with host Gregory Zeller taking a turn in the guest’s chair for an informative marketing discussion with “The Brandtelling Podcast” hosts Arthur Germain and Asaf Bachman. The old switcheroo!
ICYMI
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has driven millions of refugees from their homes, prompting an international effort to create sustainable 3D-printed shelters, led by Stony Brook University 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 Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh-based public-safety interoperability innovator Datamark Technologies pinpoints more accurate locations with enhanced 9-1-1 server.
From California: San Francisco-based streaming education platform MasterClass leverages veteran insiders to reveal the top sports-betting strategies.
From Minnesota: Minneapolis-based houseplant-care connoisseur Sol Soils elevates indoor-plant “happiness” with specially crafted chunky soils.
ON THE MOVE
Farzad Forohar
+ Farzad Forohar and his practice, North Shore Digestive Medicine, have joined Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group’s Smithtown office.
+ Michelle Moran has joined Central Islip-based McGuire, Peláez, Bennett & Belcastro as an associate. She was an attorney at the Law Office of Alexandra Mayen Rivera P.C. in Huntington.
+ Husnain Tirmazi has been hired as a concierge transition specialist at Vanderbilt Financial Group in Woodbury. He was a trade support analyst at JPMorgan Chase in Delaware.
+ Dina Colón has been hired as supervisor for the Nassau BOCES Adult Education Career and Employment Center in Garden City. She was an educational administrator for the U.S. Department of Education’s Pathways to Graduation in Queens.
+ Angelo Grosso has been hired as an operations specialist at Vanderbilt Financial Group in Woodbury. He was a universal banker at Apple Bank in Sea Cliff.
+ Michelle Kwon has been hired as interim assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Wyandanch Union Free School District. She was principal of Saxton Middle School in Patchogue.
+ Jessica Moore has been hired as an associate at Uniondale-based Ruskin Moscou Faltischek. She held the same position at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman in Rockville Centre and Manhattan.
+ Kari-Lee Grant has been hired as supervisor of the Nassau BOCES Equity, Inclusivity and Belonging Cooperative Service in Garden City. She was an instructional support specialist at the Long Island Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network in Oakdale.
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 (Stress Test Edition)
Hard work: Workplace gift-giving doesn’t have to be a chore.
Stressful: Navigating the minefield of workplace gifting.
Stress less: Can artificial intelligence actually reduce burnout?
Stress mess: This is what happens when publicity campaigns go very wrong.
Stress-free decision: Please continue supporting the innovative institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, an easy choice for students seeking comprehensive (and affordable) professional pathways. Check them out.
