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Invention

Invention December 20, 2016

In energy harvesting, the wheels never stop turning

By GREGORY ZELLER // Ramuel Maramara is pedaling an all-new energy-harvesting device, and as usual, he’s not thinking small. His “artificial jellyfish” technology, still gearing up for a major dress rehearsal off the Philippine coast, is looking to revolutionize the renewable energy industry. And yeah, as a bonus, the tech has potential desalination side effects that are still in the earliest developmental stages, but could someday provide virtually boundless freshwater supplies on a global scale. These are not…

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Invention March 20, 2016

You know the mother of invention. Here’s the son.

By GREGORY ZELLER // Science research coordinator Lisa Runco has seen many students come through Great Neck’s North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, but never one quite like Scott Soifer. When it comes to innovation, creativity and an inherent understanding of electrical and mechanical systems, the 15-year-old sophomore is unlike any other past or current NSHA student, according to Runco. “No. 1 at our school,” the student advisor said, “and his work ethic is amazing.”…

Invention February 17, 2016

Sardone to keynote Suffolk entrepreneur meetup

Patent Attorney Francesco Sardone of Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt will headline the next meeting of the Suffolk County Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club. Sardone has a mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and earned his JD from Hofstra University School of Law. He is admitted to the Courts of the State of New York, the United States Supreme Court and registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He’s also a member of the New…

Invention January 13, 2016

It’s time for a little trash talking

By GREGORY ZELLER // Like millions of other suburban homeowners, Julia-Ann Bodine has had it up to here with raccoons. Specifically, she’s fed up with the mess, sanitation issues and other headaches created every time the masked rodents party down in an outdoor garbage can. Like many of those millions of other frustrated humans, Bodine’s tried most commercially available solutions – deodorant sprays, stick-on fresheners and a host of pest repellents – and found them…

Invention December 13, 2015

Design Edge up for top toy honors

By GREGORY ZELLER // Friends up high in the Walt Disney Co. and a digital upgrade have revived a popular children’s product from a decade ago – and earned the Long Island invention a prestigious award nomination. Storytime Theater, an interactive multimedia storybook device invented by Design Edge CEO Matt Nuccio, is back, super-powered with a state-of-the-art digital projector, a smart-device interface and content spanning today’s most popular titles and brands, from “Frozen” to “Star…

Invention December 9, 2015

Mary Putre hopes to shovel all the way to the bank

By GREGORY ZELLER // “Snow hurts,” says Mary Putre. And it’s not just because she has two surgically repaired shoulders. Every Long Island home and business owner knows clearing snow and ice is backbreaking stuff. For Putre – a veteran inventor with a garage full of successful products – one snowstorm too many finally triggered her “has to be a better way” moment. The problem isn’t just the ice and snow, according to the New…

Invention December 3, 2015

A lot more than pipe dreams for ULC Robotics

By GREGORY ZELLER // Two steps ahead of “the next big boost to the U.S. economy,” there is ULC Robotics. The “big boost” in this case is robotics, and the bold prediction comes from Greg Penza, the president and CEO of the Hauppauge-based R&D firm, who sees robotics as the next great economic evolutionary step after the PC revolution of the 1980s and the buildout of the nation’s cellular systems, which occurred largely in the…