Gotta love it: Welcome to Friday, friends and lovers, and not just any Friday but Friday, Feb. 14 – Valentine’s Day, of course, sure to have hearts swelling at florists, chocolatiers and restaurants across the land (to the tune of a record $27.5 billion in consumer spending, according to the National Retail Federation).
Of course, pulses will also be racing inside women, men and nonbinary persons in the throes of romantic love – although Valentine’s Day, truth be told, has a really violent, misogynistic and overall grim backstory.
Fill ‘er up: All kinds of chocolates play today, but cream-filled chocolates hold a special place in our hearts.
All heart: However dark its origins may be, Valentine’s Day reigns now as a day of devotion – and so we wrap up this workweek with several affectionate observances, starting with Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day (admittedly, less about l’amour than heart health, but certainly near and dear to someone you love).
February 14 is also National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day, which tracks, and National Condom Day, which ignores ridiculous, laughable, prey-on-the-gullible fiction about “condoms for Gaza” and focuses on the importance of practicing safe sex.
Polk story: There are sure to be plenty of pictures taken tonight, as lovers share date-night dinners, pop questions and shout out their better halves – and on that note, while we can’t say for certain where First Lady Sarah Childress Polk was in the moment, we know that the oldest surviving photograph of a sitting U.S. President was taken on this date in 1848, when President James K. Polk posed for a portrait in New York City.
State stories: Polk was long out of office by Feb. 14, 1859, when Oregon joined the Union as the 33rd U.S. State (James Buchanan was in the Oval Office) – and long dead by Feb. 14, 1912, when Arizona became the 48th U.S. State (with Commander in Chief William Taft presiding).
Herstory: Speaking of U.S. history, women wouldn’t receive the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified six months later, but the League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago on this date in 1920.
Flare for the dramatic: The Solar Maximum Mission turned up the heat on enormous solar flares.
Observa-story: Other stellar achievements associated with this date include NASA’s Solar Maximum Mission observatory, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral 45 years ago today, packing a payload designed specifically to study solar flares.
Your stories: And it was Feb. 14, 2005, when the website YouTube was officially registered by former PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, who thought Internet users would like a place to share their home movies.
They were right – by December of that year the site was servicing more than 2 million daily videos, and by January 2006 it was compiling 25 million-plus daily views. (Today, more than 1 billion hours of content is viewed daily, for those keeping score.)
Going places: Japanese industrialist Sakichi Toyoda (1867-1930) – a successful inventor who founded several Toyoda family companies, including the Toyota Motor Corp., currently the world’s second-largest automotive manufacturer by annual revenue (behind Volkswagen) – would be 158 years old today.
Birth right?: The great Frederick Douglass was born on this date … or was he?
Also born on Feb. 14 were American abolitionist, social reformer, writer and statesman Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), who had no official birth record and picked this date; prolific American inventor Margaret Knight (1838-1914), who created several useful machines for everyday purposes; American civil engineer George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (1859-1896), who invented the Ferris wheel; Dutch American physician and biomedical engineer Willem Kolff (1911-2009), a pioneer of artificial organs; and American journalist and author Carl Bernstein (born 1944), who grew from newspaper copyboy at age 16 to enduring standard for investigative journalism.
Data driven: And take a bow, Michael Rubens Bloomberg! The American businessman and politician – co-founder and majority owner of financial/software/media/data empire Bloomberg LP, three-term New York City mayor, former U.S. Presidential candidate and the world’s 17th richest person, according to Forbes, with a current net worth exceeding $104 billion – turns 83 today.
Give the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient your best at editor@innovateli.com, where we don’t need awards or billions of dollars, just your news tips and calendar events. (Of course, we wouldn’t say “no” to any of the above.)
About our sponsor: Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano PLLC is one of the region’s most highly regarded and recognized law firms. Our attorneys are thought leaders, dedicated to achieving success through excellence. With our broad experience in land use, development, litigation, real estate, corporate and environmental law, we have the vision and knowledge to serve our clients and our communities. Please visit sahnward.com.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Ready for its closeups: Canon’s CJ20ex5B IASE S zooms in with the best of them.
Image conscious: The game was a blowout and the vaunted halftime show landed with a resounding thud, but Super Bowl LIX sure looked terrific, thanks largely to Canon USA.
The Melville-based subsidiary of the Japanese imaging giant supplied about 95 percent of the camera lenses used by the Fox Broadcasting Co. during Sunday’s championship tilt, including 62 lenses used during the live game broadcast and another 29 deployed during the pre- and postgame shows. Canon also manufactured most of the camera equipment used by credentialed sideline photographers, with a Canon Professional Services team on site to loan out emergency backup equipment and provide real-time technical support.
Technologies in play included Canon UJ122x8.2 lenses (featuring faster apertures that provide shallow depth-of-field at a distance) and the CJ20ex5B IASE S, a “broadcast electronic news-gathering camera” that combines telephoto reach with wide-angle capability. “We are very proud that Canon’s equipment and service support could contribute to … one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events,” noted Canon USA Executive Vice President and General manager Kiyoshi Oka. “Helping to provide the tools for photographers and broadcasters to document such an important moment for the culture is a privilege that means so much to us.”
With honors: Rare distinctions have catapulted two Long Island universities into the upper echelons of scientific research.
Stony Brook University, a SUNY flagship institution, has been named a Very High Research Spending and Doctorate Production University by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, recognizing a high-caliber faculty, increased research investments and expenditures and an expanded slate of doctoral programs. Hofstra University, meanwhile, has landed on the very next level as a High Research Spending and Doctorate Production University, also acknowledging hefty research investments, additional doctoral programs and a “commitment to advancing knowledge that improves society,” according to the Hempstead-based university.
To earn the “R1” distinction, institutions must spend at least $50 million on research and development and confer at least 70 research doctorates annually; the “R2” designation recognizes a minimum of $5 million in total research expenditures and the annual awarding of at least 20 doctoral research degrees. “This recognition reflects Hofstra’s commitment to advancing research that drives meaningful change,” noted Hofstra University President Susan Poser. “This status is a recognition of Hofstra’s leadership role in higher education, offering hands-on research opportunities for students while strengthening the economic vitality of our community.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Star turn: Hofstra University’s Zarb School of Business stars in a new BBC video segment highlighting the technologies and techniques the school uses to prepare future business leaders.
Gratitude attitude: Thank you in advance for forwarding this engaging newsletter to your entire innovation team, which is surely grateful for that – imagine how grateful they’ll be when you set up their own individual subscriptions! Always easy, always free.
ICYMI
Science isn’t really sure why the brain craves sweet foods or how this affects human eating patterns – at least, it wasn’t, until these Stony Brook University geneticists cracked the case.
Something to say? Welcome to The Entrepreneur’s Edge, Innovate Long Island’s new promoted-content news feature platform – a direct link from you to our innovation-focused audience. Progressive product to promote? Singular service to sell? Sociopolitical position to push? Shine a bright light on the big picture, the little details and everything in between with The Entrepreneur’s Edge. Living on the edge.
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 New York City: Accomplished entrepreneur and award-winning property developer Craig Nassi encourages future moguls with hefty Scholarship for Entrepreneurs.
From Minnesota: Minneapolis-based sustainable-cereal source Seven Sundays redefines breakfast – one bowl at a time – with crunchy, tasty Little Crispies.
From California: Long Beach-based smartphone service Phound restores trust in communications with AI-powered, spam-blocking, contact-verifying digital platform.
ON THE MOVE
Domenique Camacho Moran
+ Domenique Camacho Moran has joined the Board of Trustees of the Garden City-based Family & Children’s Association. She is a partner at Uniondale-based Farrell Fritz.
+ Kurt Hall has been hired as a group facilitator assistant at Sunshine Prevention Center in Port Jefferson Station. He was director of operations at Hope House Ministries in Mt. Sinai.
+ Hauppauge-based Discover Long Island has announced several promotions:
- Brianna McEnroe is now vice president of brand and innovation. She was director of social media and branded content.
- Courtney Guiry is now director of public relations and communications. She was senior manager of public relations and communications.
- Stacy Black is now vice president of strategy. She was senior project manager.
- Matthew Kane is now executive assistant. He was the partnership and events coordinator.
+ Mike Narula has been elected to the Melville-based Long Island Association’s Board of Directors. He is chief executive officer of Orbic North America in Hauppauge.
+ Jamie Johnson has joined Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler as an associate in the General Liability Practice Group. She was an associate at Ropers Majeski in New York City.
+ Rikki Alessi has been hired as partnership and events coordinator at Discover Long Island in Hauppauge. She was the store manager at Glenn’s Donuts in Selden.
+ The Old Westbury-based New York Institute of Technology has made several appointments to its Board of Trustees:
- Deborah Verderame is the principal of Verderame | Cale architecture in Manhattan.
- Angela Iannacci is an associate justice, Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, at the New York State Supreme Court in Mineola.
- Humayun Chaudhry is chief executive of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States in Washington.
+ Eric Arnesen has been hired as senior project manager at Castleton Environmental Geologic Services in Babylon. He was a project manager/hydrogeologist at Nelson Pope & Voorhis in Melville.
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 Sahn Ward). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Valentine’s Day Edition)
The “Eyes” have it: Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” definitely belongs on the list … but no Sinatra? Really?
The business of love: How the Industrial Revolution remanufactured Valentine’s Day.
The science of love: It’s more in your mind than your heart, according to researchers.
The power of love: From Elvis to Elton to the Beatles, Billboard ranks history’s 50 greatest love songs.
Labor of love: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support love Innovate Long Island, including Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano, where they pour their heart (and unparalleled knowledge and experience) into every land-use, corporate and environmental issue. Check them out.
